The 2026-27 IU basketball team is set to begin workouts for its upcoming trip to Lima, Peru, to participate in the 2026 FISU America Games today in Bloomington.
Entering the second season of the Darian DeVries era, the roster for the 2026-27 season will look significantly different from last winter.
The Hoosiers return just one scholarship player from the 2025-26 season – sophomore Trent Sisley – and lost their top seven scorers.
Six of Indiana’s top seven scorers, including All-Big Ten guard Lamar Wilkerson, graduated, and their sixth-leading scorer, Nick Dorn, entered the transfer portal and will play at Miami (FL) next season.
The Hoosiers rebuilt their roster via the transfer portal, landing seven players, along with the returning Sisley and four freshmen.
Indiana’s current 2026-27 roster has 12 scholarship players.
The Hoosiers will represent the United States in July at the 2026 FISU America Games, competing in up to five games in Lima, Peru.
“Excited about the trip,” DeVries said last week at Huber’s Winery in Borden, Indiana. “Again, the extra time in the gym is very useful. I like the idea, it’s a little bit sooner in the summer, July 18th to the 28th. So the guys will still get a break when they get back, so it’s not just right into school. So there’s a little bit of a refreshing time for them. We get more games, too. So I think that’s going to be great.”
While the games in July are important and the Hoosiers want to win in Peru, the importance of the extra time to work with the players this summer can’t be overstated.
“It allows us just so much more practice time,” DeVries explained. “Even film sessions and things where you can really take your time, be a little more detailed in everything you do because you’re not just up against the clock all the time. I’m excited about what that does for us here in the summer.”
The one downside of the trip is that Indiana’s players who aren’t American citizens will be unable to play in the FISU America games. However, they will be able to travel and participate in workouts this summer.
That means the Hoosiers will be without SMU transfer Samet Yigitoglu, the projected starter at center next season, and freshman big man Clemens Sokolov.
Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell will be the only scholarship big man on the roster for the Peru games. Walk-on Ben Winker will provide depth up front.
Winker is a native of Saint Louis who played last season at Cal State Fullerton.
“We would love to have them out there,” DeVries said of Yigitoglu and Sokolov. “When you commit to it (the FISU games), you’re not for sure what your roster is going to look like at the time.
“But they’ll still be on the trip and be a part of it. It’s like they have just an injury or something, they’re not able to perform. So other guys just get more opportunities and then we’ll make the most of that.”
After relying heavily on the 3-pointer last season, DeVries is hopeful his second Indiana team will be more well-rounded on both ends of the floor.
The Hoosiers acquired a stable of guards and wings in Markus Burton, Bryce Lindsay, Darren Harris and Jaeden Mustaf that can score in a variety of ways.
And the frontcourt, led by Sherrell and Yigitoglu, should bring more reliable post scoring and better rim protection.
Several early rankings for the 2026-27 season have Indiana ranked inside the top 25. With an expanded NCAA tournament field – eight additional at-large spots are available next spring – the Hoosiers look equipped to return to March Madness for the first time since 2023.
“I think the number one thing about this roster is there’s just a lot of versatility to it,” DeVries said. “I think every night there can be a different way that we can attack you. I think we have the ability to get in the paint a little bit more, to get true to the ball so we can kick out spray.
“We have the ability to post mismatches a little bit more. We have some more size in the interior for rebounding at both ends of the floor. Again, on paper, I’m pretty excited about the way it all came together. We’ll find out on Monday as we get workouts started, as we get going.”
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