As we enter the new year, so does Illinois Athletics. Every program will play in 2025 and have some new faces to help them compete for championships. Another class of athletes will join their respective teams, and fans will root for players they haven’t seen before.
Multiple programs underwent major changes or are bringing in loaded recruiting classes. To start a new year of Illinois sports, here are some new additions to look for.
Transfers bring more power to Illinois baseball
While many teams are bringing in high-level freshmen, head coach Dan Hartleb’s squad will add mainly through the portal. After finishing No. 1 in the Big Ten last season, the Illini were just missing a couple of pieces in the lineup, and junior infielder Nick Groves fills one of those spots.
Groves hit .326 or better in his first two seasons at Niagara and was 5-14 against Power 5 opponents last year. He will slot in toward the top of a powerful Illinois lineup as a guy getting on base for the big bats to drive in.
Get The Daily Illini in your inbox!
Another bat added to the lineup is junior infielder Kyle Schupmann. While the Geneva native didn’t put up impressive statistics in two seasons with Cincinnati, Hartleb expects Schupmann to produce quite a bit for Illinois this spring.
Hitting was the strength of Illinois last season, but it did not have enough pitching to make it through the postseason. Hartleb added several arms to the roster this season who will fight for innings.
Another intriguing addition is senior pitcher Ryan Daly. The 6-foot-5 right-hander was an NAIA Third Team All-American last year and could make an impact in the Big Ten in 2025.
Soccer replenishes forward depth
Illinois didn’t have the season they wanted this fall, finishing a mediocre 8-8-2. Janet Rayfield, Illinois’ winningest coach, left the program and was replaced by Katie Hultin. After finishing in the middle of the pack for goals scored, Hultin is bringing in a recruitment class with plenty of forwards ready to take a step forward next year.
Ashlyn Adams won’t have to travel far, hailing from Wheaton, Illinois. The incoming freshman broke her high school’s goal record this past season and is just what the Illini offense needs.
Kyra Berman joins Adams in the class and brings a winning reputation to Illinois. She won two Kansas State Championships in high school and was a major contributor in both. Berman finished her career at Blue Valley West High School strong, scoring 17 goals and assisting on 11 more.
Ryleigh Wood and Ava Hancock round out the group of talented forwards. Wood played for FC Dallas and brought an impressive level of experience to Illinois from her club days. Her new teammate, Hancock, was successful in soccer as well, but the 5-foot-8 righty was also a track star in high school. She earned Central State Eight First Team All-Conference honors, and her speed is exactly what Illinois needs to stretch opposing defenses thin.
This collection of soon-to-be freshmen will add a refreshing level of speed and talent to the roster. It’s a new era of Illinois soccer, and these girls will help Hultin get the program back to having NCAA tournament success.
Softball adds powerful dynamic duo
Illinois head coach Tyra Perry added a strong duo to her 2025 recruiting class, who will contribute to the team’s future success after finishing No. 12 in the Big Ten the last two years.
Utility player Ady Kiddy is from Crystal Lake, Illinois, and attended Prairie Ridge High School. During her junior year, she recorded a school record of 14 home runs. Kiddy also had 54 total runs, 41 runs batted in and batted .525 during her junior campaign. She earned 2024 First-Team All-State honors as well.
Her versatility in playing multiple positions within the infield will hopefully help the Illini work up the Big Ten ranks in the coming years.
The other recruit is outfielder Brooke Stang. She is from Brookville, Indiana, and attended Franklin County High School. Stang had a monster of a junior season, recording a .539 batting average, 13 stolen bases and nine home runs. She also broke her previous record in single-season doubles and earned All-State honors.
The unique left-handed skill set Stang adds to the Illinois roster will set her apart from other players in the conference and help contribute to the team’s future success.
Women’s basketball boasts No. 7 recruiting class
Building off the success of landing five-star forward Berry Wallace last season, Illinois women’s basketball has continued to land big-name recruits. In just her third year, head coach Shauna Green has made the Illini a sought-after team to play for.
The class of 2025 is headlined by five-star guard Destiny Jackson, No. 25 in the espnW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. The Chicago native chose to stay in-state and is primed to make an early impact for the Illini on both sides of the ball. During her 2023-24 season, Jackson averaged 16.6 points and 4 assists per game on the offensive end while grabbing 3.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game on defense.
Not far behind Jackson in the espnW rankings is four-star forward Cearah Parchment. Coming in at No. 40, the Canadian native already has experience in high-stakes moments. During Canada’s silver medal finish at the 2023 FIBA U16 Women’s Americas Championship, Parchment averaged 10 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.2 assists per game.
Forwards Manuella Alves-Fernandez and Naomi Benson are also in espnW’s top 100, sitting at composite four-star recruits. Coming in at No. 61 and No. 98, respectively, Alves-Fernandez and Benson add even more to an already impressive class. Both players stand above 6 feet tall and use it to their full advantage on the court. Throughout all three years of Benson’s high school career, she has averaged a double-double in points and rebounds. Meanwhile, Alves-Fernandez touted 9.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game for Brazil in the 2023 South American U17 Women’s Championship.
Rounding out the class and continuing to add size, Erica Finney is a 6-foot guard from Sydney, Australia. Similar to Parchment and Alves-Fernandez, Finney has held up on the national stage. In the FIBA U17 2024 World Cup, Finney posted 8 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 35.9% from deep.
