Andrej Stojakovic must decide by tonight’s 11:59 p.m. ET NCAA withdrawal deadline whether to remain in the 2026 NBA Draft or return to Illinois for his senior season.
Stojakovic, a 6'7" wing who was a central figure in Illinois’ run to the Final Four, is one of several high-profile underclassmen still undecided as the clock ticks. He averaged 13.6 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in the regular season and earned NCAA Tournament All-South Region Team honors after averaging 13.8 points and 4.0 rebounds during the tournament.
Those numbers matter because Stojakovic enters the decision with one year of college eligibility remaining. About a month ago he announced his intention to return to Champaign for that senior season; a few days after that announcement he declared for the NBA Draft. That flip — and the deadline to withdraw his name from the 2026 NBA Draft — frames the immediate stakes.
Illinois’ Final Four run under coach Brad Underwood raised expectations for both the program and Stojakovic individually. Losing him would strip Illinois of a proven perimeter scorer and rebounder; keeping him would preserve a 6'7" starter who produced at a high level when it mattered most in March. For Indiana, too, the choice is consequential: the programs are scheduled to meet in Bloomington next season, and Indiana will feel ripple effects no matter what Stojakovic decides.
The tension around the decision is built into the timeline. Stojakovic’s about-face — from publicly planning to return to declaring for the draft days later — leaves both NBA evaluators and Illinois’ roster planners waiting. Complicating matters further is health history: Stojakovic missed the rivalry matchup against Indiana this past season with an ankle injury, a fact that colors how both Illinois and potential professional suitors assess his immediate availability.
Practically, the deadline forces clarity. If Stojakovic withdraws by 11:59 p.m. ET, he uses his one remaining year of eligibility and returns to a team fresh off a Final Four appearance. If he stays in the 2026 NBA Draft, Illinois must replace a player who averaged 13.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in league play and who stepped up to 13.8 and 4.0 in the NCAA Tournament — production that helped the program reach the sport’s final weekend.
There is no public additional signposting on how Stojakovic plans to decide. What is clear from the calendar is that tonight’s deadline compresses evaluation timelines for the player and the programs that will be reshaped by his choice. For Illinois, the simplest outcome is also the most decisive: his withdrawal would restore the roster the team expected when he first said he would return to Champaign; his remaining in the draft would force immediate roster and rotation adjustments for a team that just proved it can reach the Final Four.
Stojakovic’s choice at 11:59 p.m. ET will resolve more than his own next step; it will determine whether Illinois fields a veteran 6'7" wing for one more season and whether the Bloomington meeting with Indiana next year will include the player who missed last season’s rivalry game with an ankle injury. That consequence — immediate and unavoidable — is why tonight matters.
