Illinois forward Coleman Hawkins late addition to NCAA transfer portal

After steady improvement in each of his four seasons with Illinois, forward Coleman Hawkins will enter the NCAA transfer portal as a graduate transfer looking for a new home in his final year of eligibility – according to CBS’ Matt Norlander .

Hawkins had the best season of his college career as a senior in 2023-24, stepping out as an outside shooter and opening up Brad Underwood’s offense by knocking down 36.9% of his three point attempts – a far cry from the 28% rate he carried as a junior.

Hawkins’ growth as a shooter led to a career-high in points per game (12.1) and he tacked on 6.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.1 blocks while helping to lead the Illini to a strong finish in the Big Ten and a three seed in the NCAA Tournament.

Hawkins is also in the NBA draft process, where he says his focus remains for now, and has not ruled out a return to Illinois for what would be his fifth year in Champaign.

If he were to look for another school there will be a huge list of suitors, and a move closer to his hometown of Sacramento could be in the cards at places like Arizona, USC , or UCLA .