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2022 Four-Star Point Guard Jayden Epps Commits to Illinois

The Illini picked up a key commitment in the 2022 cycle.

NCAA Basketball: Illinois at Purdue Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports

Earlier this week, the Illinois Fighting Illini picked up a key commitment from 2022 prospect Jayden Epps. He ends what’s been a relatively quiet last few months for Brad Underwood on the recruiting trail, certainly due to the program’s assistant coaching turnover.

Epps comes out of Suffolk, Virginia and is rated as a four-star prospect and the second-best player in the state by 247Sports. The recruiting site also lists him at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds. Along with Illinois, he also had offers from Arkansas, DePaul, Florida, and Providence among others.

There’s still some time before Epps will arrive on campus, but most view him as a strong prospect who should be able to bully defenders on the way to the rack. He likewise rebounds well and has some decent potential on the defensive end of the floor as well. If he can continue to improve his shooting, the sky’s the limit.

With his commitment, Illinois now has three players in its 2022 recruiting class. Epps joins fellow guards Reggie Bass and Sencire Harris, though he is ranked significantly higher than both by 247Sports. The class is now ranked fourth nationally and second in the Big Ten. And while it’s still early, those are impressive numbers and would follow a pretty talented 2021 group that ranked 23rd nationally.

How Epps will perform for the Illini remains unknown, but fans have to be excited about his pickup and what’s to come for the program with Underwood.