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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Following the fourth regular season under the leadership of head coach Shauna Green, three Fighting Illini student-athletes secured All-Big Ten accolades from the conference’s coaches and media. Berry Wallace earned unanimous first team All-Big Ten honors from the league coaches while Cearah Parchment landed honorable mention All-Conference recognition. Parchment and fellow rookie Destiny Jackson both earned spots on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Graduate student Gisela Segura was recognized as Illinois’ Sportsmanship Award honoree.
ILLINI AWARDS BREAKDOWN
Berry Wallace – First Team (Coaches, Unanimous), Second Team (Media)Cearah Parchment – Honorable Mention (Coaches), Honorable Mention (Media), All-Freshman Team (Coaches, Unanimous), All-Freshman Team (Media)Destiny Jackson – All-Freshman Team (Coaches, Unanimous), All-Freshman Team (Media)Gisela Segura – Sportsmanship Award
Wallace earned the first Big Ten postseason accolade of her career while becoming the 19th student-athlete in Illinois program history to garner All-Big Ten First Team status. The Pickerington, Ohio, native is in the midst of a major sophomore surge, averaging more than double the scoring from her rookie campaign. Wallace closed the regular season with 544 points, which ranks 16th on Illinois’ single-season scoring list and is 30 points away from breaking into the top 10.
Starting all 29 regular-season games for the Orange and Blue during the 2025-26 campaign, Wallace has racked up 15 20-point games. She’s averaging 18.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game across 35.1 minutes. Wallace is shooting 48.5% (197-for-406) from the field, 37.5% (45-for-120) from 3-point range, and 85.4% (105-for-123) from the free throw line.
Wallace is the third student-athlete under fourth-year head coach Shauna Green to earn First Team All-Big Ten accolades, joining Makira Cook, who did so during the 2022-23 season, and Kendall Bostic last season. Wallace is the first Illinois sophomore to earn first team All-Big Ten recognition since Jenna Smith did so during the 2007-08 season. In total, Wallace is the fifth Illinois underclassman to earn first team honors.
Parchment landed honorable mention All-Big Ten nods and All-Freshman team honors by both the coaches and media voters. The last time an Illini freshman landed on both the coaches (unanimously) and media All-Conference lists in any capacity was the 2014-15 campaign. The Whitby, Ontario, Canada, native collected four Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors throughout her rookie season and leads all Big Ten players with 12 double-doubles.
Enrolling at Illinois for the spring semester of the 2024-25 campaign paid off for the Illini forward, who averaged 13.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks across 28.1 minutes per game. Across the 29-game regular season, Parchment tied the program’s freshman season rebounds record with 251 with the postseason still to play. Her 399 points rank fourth on the freshman single season list while her 51 steals rank eighth.
Additionally, Parchment is scorching the nets. She is shooting 50.7% from the field (140-for-276), 44.4% (32-for-72) from 3-point range, and 79.1% (87-for-110) from the free throw line.
Fighting Illini point guard Jackson also landed All-Freshman team accolades by both the coaches (unanimously) and media voters. The Chicago native has racked up 12 double-digit scoring outings, two double-figure rebounding efforts, and a new freshman season record of 151 assists. Overall, Jackson sits in sixth on Illinois’ all-time single season assists list, 23 helpers away from owning the mark. Jackson’s 2.32 assist to turnover ratio ranks fifth in the Big Ten and 17th across the country — the top mark of all qualified freshmen.
Jackson is averaging 9.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.1 blocks across 31.0 minutes per game. She’s shooting 41.5% (88-for-212) from the field, 30% (9-for-30) from deep, and 82.9% (87-for-105) from the free throw line. The last time an Illinois player averaged 5.0+ assists per game was 33 seasons ago in 1992-93 (Jill Estey).
The All-Freshman team nods for both Jackson and Parchment marks the second time in Illinois program history that two rookies have earned the honor in the same season, with the first occurrence coming in 1997 (Tauja Catchings and Katie Coleman). The Fighting Illini are the only team with multiple players on either of the All-Freshman Team polls.
Taking home the Sportsmanship Award honors for the Fighting Illini was graduate student Gisela Segura. The Cervera, Spain, native is in her first year in the orange and blue and sixth season of college basketball. She has taken the young Illini squad under her wing, helping guide her teammates and always giving 100%. Segura has appeared in 8 games at Illinois and 90 across her collegiate career. She’s scored over 500 career points while surpassing 300 rebounds, 100 assists, and 100 steals.
[10] Illinois begins its postseason run in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament on Wednesday at 5 p.m. CT in Indianapolis against [15] Wisconsin. Fans can catch the action on Peacock or NBCSN.
