With the start of the season rapidly approaching, UMHoops and Inside the Hall have partnered to bring you our annual preseason breakdown of the top players in the Big Ten for the 14th straight season.
We excluded potential 5-in-5 additions, like Minnesota’s Cade Tyson, because of uncertainty around eligibility and legal processes.
Previously in this series: 40-31, 30-21, 20-11
The series is broken into five parts and we continue with our fourth installment of players 10-6 for the 2026-27 season:
10. Tomislav Ivisic, Illinois (Center, 7-foot-1, senior)
Ivisic ranked 11th on last year’s preseason list and didn’t make an All-Big Ten team. It feels a bit awkward for him to move up a spot after a year that didn’t exactly pop individually, with his per-game numbers dipping across the board.
That said, he’s an instrumental piece for one of the league favorites. His combination of size, rebounding, passing and 3-point shooting is all instrumental to what works for Illinois offensively. Ivisic only shot 31 percent from 3-point range last season (down from 36 percent the previous year), but his perimeter volume creates the space for Illinois’ offense to operate.
Ivisic sets the floor for Illinois and if a few more of his 3-point shots fall this season he could take a step forward.
9. Trent Perry, UCLA (Guard, 6-foot-4, junior)
Donovan Dent and Skyy Clark are gone, clearing the way for Perry to run the show for the Bruins in his junior season. His audition the last two seasons for that role suggest he’s more than capable.
After limited run as a freshman, Perry started 24 of UCLA’s 35 games last season and averaged 12.6 points, three rebounds and 2.8 assists while shooting 39.2 percent on 3-pointers. In Big Ten games, he was the league’s second-best free-throw shooter and ninth-best 3-point shooter. He does a good job of using his body to get to the rim to finish plays or draw fouls, is a solid defender who had 32 steals as a sophomore and rarely turns the ball over. While he may not fit the description of a breakout candidate given his prominent role last season, Perry is a strong bet to take his game to another level this winter.
8. Nolan Winter, Wisconsin (Forward, 7-foot, senior)
7-footers who make threes, rebound and finish everything around the basket are valuable. Winter is another one of those guys. He shot 70 percent on twos and 33 percent on threes (36 percent of attempts), and his inside-outside game helped Wisconsin’s dynamic on-ball guards succeed last season.
Winter is an ideal player for Wisconsin’s ball screen-heavy attack because he can pop to the 3-point line or finish anything he catches inside. If he’s going to have a breakout senior year, he’ll probably need to show more as an individual creator and scorer. He only scored 30 points out of post-ups last season and was more of a possession finisher.
7. John Mobley Jr., Ohio State (Guard, 6-foot-2, junior)
There aren’t many guys in the Big Ten that you’d want taking a big shot more than Mobley. He’s played with tremendous poise and confidence from the moment he arrived at Ohio State in the 2024-25 season. A fearless shooter and scorer, Mobley made 97 3-pointers last season and shot 41.1 percent from distance. In Big Ten games, he shot 42.7 percent on 3s, the sixth best mark in the conference.
With the graduation of Bruce Thornton, Mobley will now be paired with Cal transfer Justin Pippen in a revamped Buckeye backcourt. While he can be streaky at times, Mobley flat-out carried Ohio State at times last year and stuffed the stat sheet by averaging 15.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 31.6 minutes per game. He’s as experienced as any junior in the Big Ten as far as minutes played and will be the leader of an Ohio State team expected to return to the NCAA tournament.
6. Rodney Rice, USC (Guard, 6-foot-5, senior)
Rice looked the part of a star through six games last season for the Trojans before a shoulder injury ended his season. A key member of Maryland’s Sweet Sixteen team in the 2024-25 season under Kevin Willard, Rice averaged 20.3 points, six assists and 3.3 rebounds per game last season for USC prior to the injury.
The 6-foot-5 guard opted to return to USC for his fourth season in a crowded backcourt that also includes Alijah Arenas and KJ Lewis. Rice is an excellent 3-point shooter who connected at a 37.4 clip from deep at Maryland and 38.5 percent last season at USC before the injury. It’s hard to imagine Rice averaging 20 per game this season simply because USC is more talented and balanced. What isn’t hard to imagine, however, is Rice solidifying himself as one of the league’s best guards once again.
