Source – Lithuania’s Kasparas Jakosionnis has committed to Illinois

Top international basketball prospect Kasparas Jakosionnis, a potential first-round pick in the 2025 NBA draft, has committed to Illinois, a source told ESPN on Tuesday.

The 6-foot-6 point guard from Lithuania is one of the most promising international players committed to the college route in the Class of 2024.

Jakocionis was one of the youngest players ever to play for European side Barcelona when he made his ACB debut aged 16, and he most recently made his debut in the Europa League in January. He has led the prestigious Adidas Next Generation Championship in assists this season with 9.0 assists per game, and was named ANGT Belgrade Player of the Year.

Jakucionis was named to the All-Star Team at the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders camp in January and was later invited to the Nike Hoop Summit World Team in Portland in April. He averaged 17.7 points, 6 rebounds and 5.2 assists per 24 minutes over 34 games across several different contests this season, shooting 37% from 3-point range.

He is expected to play an important role in an Illinois backfield that includes Arizona transfer Kellan Boswell, along with returning guards Dar Gibbs Lawhorn and Ty Rodgers. The Illini also impressed with Louisville wing transfer Trey White, Mercer wing transfer Jake Davis, Notre Dame forward Carey Booth, and Evansville extended big man Ben Hamrichus and will score a pair of highly touted freshman centers in Moriz Johnson and Tomislav Ivecic.

An elite group of international players is expected to announce commitments to some of the top programs in college basketball, as the proliferation of NIL agreements has made the NCAA a much more attractive path in recent years.

Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and the founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a proprietary scouting and analytics service used by NBA, NCAA and international teams.