Illinois guard/forward Ty Rodgers (Saginaw, Mich.) announced on his social media accounts Tuesday night his return to the Fighting Illini after redshirting this past season.

Rodgers started all 38 games as a sophomore in 2023-24, helping lead the Illini to 29 victories – third-most in school history – a Big Ten Tournament Championship, and the program's first NCAA Elite Eight appearance since 2005. Rodgers was fifth on the Illini in scoring at 6.2 points per game while shooting 52.7% from the field. He was the team's third-leading rebounder at 5.3 boards per contest and led the squad in offensive rebounds with 2.3 rpg.

Rodgers returns to the lineup following Illinois' 22-win campaign and NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance in 2024-25. Illinois is the winningest team in Big Ten play over the last six years during the Brad Underwood era and stands as one of just four teams nationally with six straight 20-win regular seasons.