WCIA — Jase Butler made a birthday memory he won’t forget anytime soon. The 3-star guard out of California committed to play for Illinois on Wednesday on Instagram Live, picking the Illini ahead of offers from San Francisco, Stanford, Colorado State, UC Santa Barbara and Loyola Marymount, among several others.

“The environment and community, everyone is invested,” Butler said about his trip to Champaign and what stuck out about Illinois, during his commitment with Travis Branham from 247Sports. “Felt like a no-brainer (to commit to Illinois) when I took the visit.”

Butler officially visited Illinois two weeks ago for the Florida Atlantic football game, seen on the field with the rest of his future Illini teammates. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound combo guard plays for The Branson School just outside San Francisco, California. Butler is ranked 88th nationally and the 19th best recruit in California in the Class of 2024, according to 247Sports.

Butler is the third player to commit in the Class of 2024, joining 4-star forward Morez Johnson out of Thornton and 3-star forward Jason Jakstys from Yorkville.