Keaton Wagler and the No. 3 seed Illinois Fighting Illini are preparing for a Final Four matchup against the No. 2 UConn Huskies. They're looking to stay hot, already picking up NCAA Tournament wins against the No. 14 Penn Quakers, No. 11 VCU Rams, No. 2 Houston Cougars and No. 9 Iowa Hawkeyes.
With a national championship appearance on the line, pressure grows for Wagler. This season, the true freshman is averaging 17.9 points (leads the team), five rebounds and 4.3 assists per game (leads the team). He's exceeded expectations, coming out of high school in the 2025 cycle as just a three-star recruit, per Rivals Industry Rankings.
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As Illinois chases its first national championship win in program history, Wagler has taken advantage of his time in the spotlight. This season, he's revealed name, image and likeness partnerships with Wendy's, CVS and NBA 2K. On Wednesday, he announced a new NIL deal with TurboTax.
"Winning goes beyond the court 🏀💵 File with @TurboTax by April 15th to keep on winning #TurboTaxPartner #MarchMadness #ad," he wrote via an Instagram post.
Capitalizing on another deal isn't a major surprise. Wagler's On3 NIL valuation of $1.5 million is tied for the 13th-highest in college basketball. It is also the highest for anyone on the Fighting Illini, with Andrej Stojakovic in second at $640,000.
With this latest collaboration announced, Wagler and Illinois remain focused on UConn. It may be their biggest challenge yet in the NCAA Tournament, with DraftKings listing them as 1.5-point favorites. The game is scheduled for Saturday at 6:09 p.m. ET at Lucas Oil Stadium, airing on TBS, truTV and HBO Max.
