Will Riley


William Riley is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Illinois [Fighting Illini men's basketball|Illinois Fighting Illini].

High school career

Riley attended high school at Southwest Academy Prep in London, Ontario with brief stops at Preston High School and Grand River Collegiate Institute. He then attended The Phelps School in Malvern, Pennsylvania where he spent the last two years of his high school career.
He averaged 21.9 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game during Nike Elite [Youth Basketball League|EYBL] and was named Offensive MVP of the EYBL Indy Session, starring for UPlay Canada.
He was named MVP of the 2024 Basketball Without Borders Global Camp during NBA All-Star weekend.

Recruiting

He was ranked as the top-ranked Canadian prospect and No. 9 overall by 247Sports, No. 10 by On3, and No. 11 by Rivals in the class of 2025. On June 23, 2024, Riley committed to Illinois Urbana-Champaign">Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball">Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He was originally part of the class of 2025 but reclassified to 2024 to join earlier. At the time of his signing, Riley was the highest-ranked recruit signed by Illinois in the internet era, surpassing Dee Brown from the class of 2002.

College career

On November 11, 2024, Riley was named the first 2024–25 [Big Ten Conference men's basketball season#Players of the week|Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the 2024–25 season]. Riley's overall week in two Illinois wins, as well as his securing the Illini freshman scoring record, tipped the scales in his favor. He went on to receive the award twice more. Following the Big Ten regular season's conclusion, he was named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year. He later declared for the 2025 NBA draft, and received a green room invite in the second wave of invitations on June 16.

Professional career

In the 2025 NBA draft, Riley was selected 21st overall by the Utah Jazz and traded to the Washington Wizards. He made his professional debut with the Wizards on October 22, 2025, scoring two points in a 133-120 loss against the Milwaukee Bucks.

Career statistics

College