Illinois Year in Review | Top transfers

It’s not just Brad Underwood and Bret Bielema working the transfer portal to boost their rosters. Several Illinois coaches tapped into that growing market and reaped some serious rewards in 2023-24. Staff writer Scott Richey spotlights the 10 best:

1. Marcus Domask, men’s basketball

Domask arrived in Champaign in May 2023 to, let’s face it, little fanfare. The 6-foot-6 guard had put together four standout seasons at Southern Illinois — racking up 1,615 career points in 106 games for the Salukis — but his addition wasn’t a splashy offseason dip into the portal. Domask left a year later as an All-Big Ten First-Team selection, averaging 15.9 points and 3.9 assists as a central figure in Illinois’ offense. Booty ball! Domask was integral in Illinois winning a Big Ten tournament title, making a run to the Elite Eight and finishing with a 29-9 record.

2. Darja Sopova, women’s track and field

It wasn’t a trade, of course, but it’s safe to call Illinois losing Olivia Howell to Texas and getting Sopova from the Longhorns a win-win for both programs. Sopova didn’t blossom, though, until she got to Champaign. Success on the international level in 2021 didn’t parlay to the same at Texas, but the Ventspils, Latvia, native racked up several honors this past season. Sopova was the Big Ten indoors champion in the triple jump, broke the school record and earned All-American honors in the event after finishing sixth indoors and as national runner-up outdoors.

3. Bara Sajdokova, women’s track and field

Sajdokova hit her personal best mark of 6 feet, 3 1/4 inches in the high jump — a U20 world record when she set it in 2020 — this season after transferring from Texas A&M. The Czech standout’s best jump of the year matched that mark in the outdoor season. She accumulated the most honors indoors, winning a Big Ten title, setting both a conference meet record and Illinois’ indoor record, clearing 6-2 1/4 in February in Geneva, Ohio. Sajdokova also placed fifth at the NCAA indoor championship to earn All-American recognition.

4. Tyler Goecke, men’s golf

Mike Small doesn’t hit the transfer portal often. The Illinois coach mostly hasn’t needed to as he’s turned his program into a national powerhouse. Goecke was one of two graduate transfers on the Illini roster this season and ultimately found the form in late spring that had made him a two-time Horizon League Golfer of the Year at Wright State. Goecke closed out his time at Illinois with his best two performances, finishing tied for fifth at the NCAA Stanford Regional and tied for second at the NCAA championship.

5. Amber Simpson, women’s track and field

Simpson was already a fairly accomplished thrower when she arrived at Illinois after spending five years at Memphis. But like Sopova and Sajdokova, the Welsh standout turned in the best season of her career at Illinois. Simpson broke the program record in the weight throw during the indoor season — actually doing it four times in her first five meets — before transitioning to an even better outdoor season. That’s where Simpson became the Illini’s first All-American in the hammer throw with an eighth-place finish.

6. John Paddock, football

Illinois rebuilt its quarterback room ahead of the 2023 season by landing Mississippi transfer Luke Altmyer and Paddock, a sixth-year veteran who spent the previous five seasons at Ball State. Altmyer was the starter and had a solid season, but Paddock wound up an All-Big Ten honorable-mention pick by the league’s coaches after taking over as QB1 late in the year when Altmyer was injured. The Illini legacy threw for 1,056 yards and seven touchdowns starting the final three games and was a two-point conversion away from leading Illinois to a bowl.

7. Quincy Guerrier, men’s basketball

Illinois’ pursuit of Guerrier went back long enough that Jamall Walker was one of his primary recruiters. The Illini missed out on the 6-8 Canadian as a high school prospect. Then missed again when Guerrier left Syracuse for Oregon. The third time, as they say, was the charm. Illinois coach Brad Underwood wanted to “get old,” and Guerrier qualified given he turned 24 six months before the 2023-24 season started. The veteran wing started all 38 games for the Illini and led the team with nine double-doubles.

8. Camille Hobby, women’s basketball

Shauna Green identified a post presence as about the only need for a team that was basically running it back after 22 wins and the program’s first NCAA tournament appearance in two decades. Someone to free up Kendall Bostic to play power forward more often and stretch her game to the perimeter. Hobby filled that role as a one-and-done transfer after spending the previous four seasons at North Carolina State. The 6-3 center came up just shy of giving Illinois five starters averaging double figures, but did put up 9.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game.

9. Cooper Omans, baseball

Omans’ presence was most noticeable when it was gone. The 5-10 left-handed pitcher, who played previously at Division II Nova Southeastern, missed the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments with a shoulder injury. Not having their No. 2 starter was an issue for the Illini, and that’s a role the Oviedo, Fla., native filled effectively throughout the season. Omans started 12 games for Illinois and finished the year 4-1 with a 3.73 ERA, which was the lowest among the team’s starters. He struck out 56 compared to 28 walks and allowed a .215 batting average against.

10. Luke Altmyer, football

The QB1 baton at Illinois has been passed from transfer to transfer with Brandon Peters (Michigan), Art Sitkowski (Rutgers) and Tommy DeVito (Syracuse) giving way to Altmyer last season. The last high school quarterback recruit to get a start was Isaiah Williams in 2020 before he moved to wide receiver. Altmyer started the first nine games of the season before suffering a concussion at Minnesota and finished his first season in Champaign with 1,883 passing yards, 13 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.