Inside the Untold Story of Illini’s Extraordinary Four-Year Player: What Sets Him Apart?

There’s something undeniably fascinating about commitment in college basketball these days — especially when it comes to players sticking it out at one school for four full years. Take Ty Rodgers, for instance, a 6-foot-6 wing out of Saginaw, Michigan, who’s been holding down the fort at Illinois since the 2022-23 season. He’s the last of his freshman class still running with the Illini, a rarity in today’s transfer-happy world. You see, his teammates like Skyy Clark, Jayden Epps, and Sencire Harris took their talents elsewhere, chasing new opportunities across the country. It makes you wonder — just how many players in the Big Ten are defying the odds and truly embracing the full college experience on one roster? As it turns out, not many at all. We dug into the numbers, and what we found might surprise you — a mere 17 four-year players scattered across the conference, including walk-ons. Curious which teams boast these steadfast athletes? The list might just change your perspective on loyalty and longevity in the sport. LEARN MORE

Ty Rodgers arrived in Champaign ahead of the 2022-23 season one of four incoming freshmen for Illinois. The 6-foot-6 wing out of Saginaw, Mich., has been the last man standing from that group for two years. Sencire Harris stuck with Illinois in 2023-24, but opted to redshirt that season after the Illini landed multiple veterans to bolster their backcourt. Harris followed assistant coach Chester Frazier to West Virginia in 2024-25 but didn’t when Frazier returned to Virginia Tech. Harris instead transferred a second time to Cincinnati. Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team and college basketball at large:Rodgers in the headlines got us thinking in The News-Gazette newsroom. How many four-year players are there in the Big Ten? An interesting talking point that spurred some research. The answer? Some, but not all that many. As in 17 total, including walk-ons. The full list:Sign up for our daily basketball newsletter hereSkyy Clark left the Illini during that season, landed at Louisville and then left the Cardinals after one season for UCLA. He stuck with the Bruins this offseason and will wrap up his college career in Los Angeles this coming season.Jayden Epps transferred after his freshman year at Illinois despite starting 11 of 31 games and playing 24.6 minutes per game. The 6-foot-2 guard spent the past two seasons at Georgetown, but he was on the move again this spring and landed at Mississippi State. To subscribe, click hereAll that to say four-year players at one program are rare. Rodgers qualifies, but after suffering a knee injury last week back home in Michigan, there’s a chance his four years in Champaign could turn into two years on the court and two years off it. He redshirted last season, and the severity of his injury (it requires surgery) might dictate another.

• Illinois — Ty Rodgers, AJ Redd
• Indiana — (None)
• Iowa — (None)
• Maryland — (None)
• Michigan State — Jaxon Kohler, Carson Cooper
• Michigan — Will Tschetter
• Minnesota — (None)
• Nebraska — Sam Hoiberg
• Northwestern — Nick Martinelli, Blake Smith
• Ohio State — Bruce Thornton
• Oregon — Nate Bittle
• Penn State — (None)
• Purdue — Braden Smith, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Fletcher Loyer, Sam King
• Rutgers — (None)
• UCLA — Evan Manjikian, Jack Seidler
• USC — (None)
• Washington — (None)
• Wisconsin — Isaac Gard