Kylan Boswell Scouting Report: Illinois Basketball 2025-2026

Kylan Boswell statistics and 2024-25 season

Boswell was Illinois' most versatile player on the roster last season, blending scoring (12.3 points per game), facilitation (3.4 assists) and hair-on-fire defense. He even pulled down 4.8 boards per game on one of the leading rebounding teams in the nation.Depending on what the Illini needed on the night, or even in a given moment, Boswell was there to deliver – either as a primary ball-handler and offensive catalyst, a penetrator, an off-ball cutter and putback threat, and a lockdown defender of opponents' top offensive threats.

Scouting Kylan Boswell

Boswell plays bigger than his 6-foot-2 frame would suggest, in part because he is may be the strongest backcourt player in college basketball. He plays hard, with aggressive physicality, and is at his best attacking off the dribble – drawing fouls, finishing around the rim and setting up teammates on kick-out passes after drawing help.

That Boswell wasn't named to the All-Big Ten defensive team last season was a robbery, but that might only make trouble for guards and wings around the country now that he's properly motivated to remedy the situation in 2025-26. His three-point shooting has dropped off every year (plummeting to 24.5 last season), and after more than 100 career college games, he shouldn't be expected to change his stripes. But even just a reasonable recovery and a bit more selectivity could help unlock his best season yet.

Boswell highlights

What they're saying about Boswell

"There's nothing on [the defensive] side of the ball that Kylan can't do. And so, physically, he's very gifted. So that gives us tremendous confidence into what he can do. ... He's also really smart, and he's got great anticipation. He's got super-quick hands. So it doesn't matter the position – kind of 1 through 4 – I'm pretty good with him, because of his strength and his quickness, being able to guard just about anybody," Underwood said after Boswell last season held Duke's 6-foot-9 rim attacker Cooper Flagg to two points in a half, then shut down Iowa's 6-foot-7 sharpshooter Payton Sandfort (3-for-13, no threes) a game later.

What we expect from Boswell

Illinois' Balkan Bros are the toast of Champaign right now, and even young fellas Keaton Wagler and Brandon Lee are drawing attention, but Boswell is the beating heart of the Illini. The rare senior on the roster, he is part team leader, part calming presence, part on-court chameleon. It's possible that Boswell's scoring may recede slightly on this club, but the tradeoff could be better shooting numbers and more wins. He also should nail down conference defensive honors, threaten for an All-Big Ten spot and possibly dish out more assists than any other secondary ball-handler in the league.