All-stater commits to play at Bradley

Connor Dillon is coming home. The former Peoria Notre Dame allstater announced Friday via social media he will finish his college basketball career with the Bradley Braves.

Dillon, a 6-foot-2 guard, spent his first four seasons at Division-II Winona State, averaging 21.6 points and 3.8 rebounds, while shooting 39 percent from the 3-point line in his senior season. He will come to Peoria as a graduate transfer in his final year of eligibility.

“Excited to announce my commitment to Bradley University!” Dillon posted on Twitter. “Thank you to the coaching staff for this great opportunity. Let’s work!”

Dillon earned all-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference first-team honors this past season for the Warriors, who finished 21-10 overall. In those 31 games, Dillon scored 25-plus points 10 times including two 40-point efforts highlighted by 41 in a January win.

This is the latest in a series of offseason events that have reshaped the roster at Bradley, which is coming off a 20win season, a third-place finish in the MVC and a trip to the second round of the National Invitation Tournament.

The Braves lost all-Missouri Valley Conference guard Connor Hickman and reserves Goanar Biliew and Kyle Thomas to the transfer portal. Meanwhile, two starters and two key reserves recently announced their return to the Braves for 2024-25: all-Valley point guard Duke Deen, big man Darius Hannah, along with Christian Davis and Demarion Burch.

Look for Dillon to help fill a scoring void left by Hickman, who averaged 14.5 points per game and earned third-team all-Missouri Valley Conference honors.