2026-27 Season Preview · #15 of 15

#15 Illinois

MatScouts Crystal Ball projected 2027 NCAA top 15 (Willie Saylor), mid-summer update

Kannon Webster took fifth at 157 last March, and he is back. So are Chris Moore, Colin Kelly and Braeden Scoles. That is 21.5 of Illinois' 28 points returning, and Webster is the piece worth building around: he signed as the number ten recruit in his class and he has delivered on it.

The honest part is the shape of the last two years. Illinois finished tenth in 2025 and fifteenth in 2026, and Lucas Byrd's eighth place finish is gone. The development score sits 45th of 78, right at the middle. Fifteenth is a starting point on this page, not a verdict.

Returning NCAA tournament points

Of the 28 team points Illinois scored at the 2026 NCAA Championships, wrestlers accounting for 21.5 points (77%) are back in the room this season. 6.5 points walked out the door. Hover over the bar for the breakdown.

2026 NCAA team points: returning vs. leaving

028 pts scored in 2026
Returning Departing

NCAA finish by year

Where Illinois actually finished at the NCAA Championships each year (solid green line), next to where our development model expected a roster with these ratings to finish (dashed gray line). Hover over a point for the score.

Team finish at the NCAA Championships, 2021 to 2026

202120222023202420252026
Actual finish Model-expected finish

Impact Score

Impact score is our model’s one-number rating of a wrestler’s season, earned in the conference tournament and the NCAA bracket: the deeper the March run, the higher the score. Kannon Webster’s 106 was the best returning score on this roster last season.

Add up every season this roster wrestled in 2025-26 and it comes to 374 impact. 256 of it (68%) is already back in the room, 118 walked out the door through the portal.

Career impact score entering 2026-27

  1. Kannon Webster157 lbs 112
  2. Braeden Scoles165 lbs 52
  3. Chris Moore184 lbs 36
  4. Colin Kelly174 lbs 30

Roster

Projected 2026-27 lineup

Every weight, who is projected to hold it, what they did in the 2025-26 postseason, and who held the spot last March. All numbers are conference-tournament and NCAA matches only. Impact score is our model’s rating of a season: the 2025-26 number is what they earned, the 2026-27 number is what the model expects next.

125

Co'ji Campbell unverified

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Spencer Moore (5th year)DNP at NCAAs (18 seed) Eligibility exhausted
2026-27 (expected)–Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

133

Joey Ruzic

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Lucas Byrd (6th year)8th at NCAAs Eligibility exhausted
2026-27 (expected)–Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

141

Griff Powell

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Danny Pucino (6th year)No NCAA bracket Eligibility exhausted
2026-27 (expected)1Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

149

Antonio Alvarado

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Michael Gioffre (Sr)DNP at NCAAs (25 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)–Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

157

Kannon Webster

Junior
5th2026 NCAA Tournament
3rd2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Kannon Webster (Jr)5th at NCAAs Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)75Impact Score
2025-26106Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate44%
Takedowns / Match1.6
Nearfall Pts / Match0.3
Riding Time Points3
Escape Pts / Match0.8
Reversals / Match0
165

Braeden Scoles

Junior
DNP2026 NCAA Tournament
8th2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Braeden Scoles (Jr)DNP at NCAAs (17 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)36Impact Score
2025-2622Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate–
Takedowns / Match1.4
Nearfall Pts / Match1.1
Riding Time Points1
Escape Pts / Match1.7
Reversals / Match0
174

Colin Kelly

Sophomore
DNP2026 NCAA Tournament
7th2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Colin Kelly (So)DNP at NCAAs (18 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)36Impact Score
2025-2642Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate33%
Takedowns / Match1.5
Nearfall Pts / Match0
Riding Time Points3
Escape Pts / Match1.7
Reversals / Match0
184

Chris Moore

Junior
DNP2026 NCAA Tournament
4th2026 Conference Tournament
2025-26 Postseason Starter
Chris Moore (Jr)DNP at NCAAs (9 seed) Back in 2026-27
2026-27 (expected)36Impact Score
2025-2649Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats
Bonus Rate33%
Takedowns / Match1.3
Nearfall Pts / Match0
Riding Time Points2
Escape Pts / Match0.9
Reversals / Match0
197

Payton Thomas

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Dylan Connell (5th year)No NCAA bracket Eligibility exhausted
2026-27 (expected)1Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

285

Josh Hoffer

No 2025-26 postseason matches. Stats begin when they reach a bracket.

2025-26 Postseason Starter
Luke Luffman (6th year)DNP at NCAAs (26 seed) Eligibility exhausted
2026-27 (expected)1Impact Score
2025-26–Impact Score
2025-26 Postseason Stats

No postseason data yet.

Incoming recruits

The 2026 signing class, ranked by final big-board position. Expected entry score is the impact our model projects for a recruit’s first college season, set by where they finished on the board.

  • WM Wyatt Medlinexpected entry score 5#28 board
  • AS Aaron Stewartexpected entry score 5#32 board
  • JK Jake Knightexpected entry score 1#96 board
  • CH Caeleb Hutchinsonexpected entry score 1#109 board
  • JH Josh Hofferprojected at 285 · expected entry score 1#133 board
  • JP Jaxon Penovichexpected entry score 1#176 board
  • GP Griff Powellprojected at 141 · expected entry score 1#249 board

Transfer portal

The 2026 cycle, in and out.

  • ER Edmond Ruth184 · out to an undeclared destination · undeclared Out

The full portal history, cycle by cycle, is in the Development section below.

2026 NCAA team stats

What this roster did in the 2026 bracket, and where that ranks among every team that scored at the tournament.

30 Takedowns #16 of 67
5 Bonus-rate wins #15 of 45
7 Nearfall points #26 of 47
54 Escapes #5 of 70
3 Reversals #17 of 45
7 Riding-time points #13 of 57

How this team compares to all of D1

Bonus rate

Illinois31%
All D131%

Takedowns per match

Illinois0.9
All D11.0

Team points per qualifier

Illinois3.5
All D11.5

Medians across the 70 programs that scored at the 2026 NCAA Championships.

Takedowns per match

2026 postseason pace, projected lineup only.

  1. Kannon Webster157 lbs 1.6
  2. Colin Kelly174 lbs 1.5
  3. Braeden Scoles165 lbs 1.4
  4. Chris Moore184 lbs 1.3

Nearfall points per match

2026 postseason pace, projected lineup only.

  1. Braeden Scoles165 lbs 1.1
  2. Kannon Webster157 lbs 0.3

Development

Recruiting and the portal, 2020 → today

Every signee and every portal move this program has made since 2020, and what came of them. Expected is the rating our model projects: a first college season is measured against the wrestler’s big-board entry score, later seasons against the development model. Actual is the rating they earned. Click a wrestler to open their score card: the season-by-season receipt behind those career totals.