BREAKING: Nation’s No. 1 Recruit, Ace Bailey, Flips Commitment to Illinois Basketball
**CHAMPAIGN, Ill.** – In a stunning, program-altering decision that has sent shockwaves through college basketball, the top-ranked high school player in America has announced his commitment to the University of Illinois. **Ace Bailey**, the transcendent 6-foot-9 forward from McEachern High School in Georgia, and the consensus No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2025, revealed Monday that he has decommitted from the University of Kansas and will instead sign with the Illinois Fighting Illini.
The announcement, made during a live broadcast on the 247Sports network, represents a historic recruiting coup for Head Coach **Brad Underwood** and the Illinois program. Bailey, a generational talent with a complete offensive arsenal, defensive versatility, and a 7-foot wingspan, had been the crown jewel of Kansas’s top-ranked recruiting class for nearly a year. His decision to flip to Illinois is the most significant recruiting victory in the modern era of Illini basketball.
“This journey has been about finding the right fit for my heart and my future,” Bailey said, donning an orange Illinois hat. “I have the utmost respect for Coach [Bill] Self and the Kansas program. But my connection with Coach Underwood, Coach [Tim] Anderson, and the entire Illinois staff was unbreakable. Their vision for my development, their plan for how I’ll be used, and the passion of Illini Nation made this feel like home. I’m coming to Champaign to help hang a banner.”
This monumental flip is the ultimate validation of the powerhouse program Brad Underwood has built through player development and relentless defense. After securing a Big Ten Tournament title and multiple deep NCAA tournament runs, Illinois has been on the cusp of landing a program-changing recruit. Securing a talent of Bailey’s caliber—a player projected as a one-and-done lottery pick and a potential national Player of the Year—signals that Illinois is now a premier destination for the sport’s absolute elite.
“This is a seismic event, not just for the Big Ten, but for all of college basketball,” declared ESPN National Recruiting Analyst Paul Biancardi. “For Brad Underwood to go into the heart of Big 12 country, into Bill Self’s backyard, and take the No. 1 player in the nation is a staggering achievement. It announces that Illinois is now operating in the sport’s top tier. Bailey is the kind of talent that can single-handedly elevate a program to Final Four contention.”
The move is deeply connected to Underwood’s positionless, fast-paced offensive system and the opportunity for Bailey to be the undisputed focal point. The chance to be the face of a storied program’s return to the national championship conversation, in a major conference, proved to be an irresistible narrative.
The implications are immediate and profound. Bailey’s commitment instantly rockets Illinois’s 2025 recruiting class to the top of the national rankings and serves as a powerful beacon for other elite prospects. It energizes a fanbase with historic passion and provides the program with its most celebrated recruit since the days of Dee Brown and Deron Williams.
For Kansas, the loss is historic and abrupt. For Illinois, it is a transformative moment that signals a new golden era. Ace Bailey is more than a player; he is a symbol of Illinois’s restored national relevance and the key to its championship ambitions. In Champaign, the message is clear: The Illini are not just back—they’ve just landed the best player in America to prove it.
