Good Morning, Illini Nation: Major opportunity for Illinois target Cole Kelly
May 22—Cole Kelly earned his Illinois offer before he had played a single minute as a freshman for Neuqua Valley during the 2024-25. The Illini were on board with the in-state wing in July 2024 and remained his only offer until the following spring. Kelly has shown why he's considered a top 40 prospect in the Class of 2028 multiple times throughout the past two years.
The 6-foot-6 forward averaged 18. 5 points, 9. 6 rebounds and 2.
5 assists for Neuqua Valley as a freshman. His sophomore year follow-up, saw him put up 20 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals per game for the Warriors. Now, Kelly is taking his game global after earning a roster spot on the Adidas-sponsored U18 3SSB team for the NextGen Euroleague Finals.
Games got underway Thursday in Athens, Greece, and Kelly helped the 3SSB squad take down the reigning NextGen champions with a 104-93 victory against Lithuanian side U18 Zalgiris Kaunas. Kelly scored 12 points on 5 of 10 shooting in the win against Zalgiris and also had five assists, three rebounds and two steals. Bremerton (Wash.
) guard Jalen Davis led the 3SSB team with a game-high 26 points. Prolific Prep (Fla. ) guard Nasir Anderson, a five-star 2027 guard and Illinois recruiting target, finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.