Indiana men's basketball returned just one player from the 2025-26, roster, Trent Sisley*, a power forward that has potential to be one of Indiana's more interesting bench pieces this coming season. He saw some action and produced well early, but struggled with consistency and, as a result, saw his role decrease as the season went on.
Sisley has now had a full college offseason though, and will be playing alongside a bunch of guys who should help him play to his strengths better in his sophomore year.
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F Trent Sisley
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Previous school:Montverde/Heritage Hills High School
With Samet Yigitoglu and Aiden Sherrell ahead of him on the depth chart in the frontcourt, Sisley projects to be a bench player again this year.
Sherrell is his most direct competition as the starting power forward, but Sherrell played just 23.9 minutes per game last year as a starter. I'm assuming he's been working on his conditioning this offseason, but there could be a lot of minutes available there early on as he gets into midseason shape.
There's also the possibility (probability) that Sherrell will spend some time at the five spot, which would allow Sisley to play alongside him as a power forward. Even with Yigitoglu available, it's an intriguing small(er) ball line up, as Sisley and Sherrell have pretty different skills*.
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As a freshman, Sisley posted a better defensive rebounding rate than Sherrell last year and is more inclined to finish strong at the rim, whereas Sherrell will be able to step behind the arc to be a perimeter threat.
The key to Sisley's improvement this year will likely come down to the work he was able to put in on his body and athleticism this past offseason. As a freshman, he was neither strong enough to body up the bigger power forwards in the conference, nor quick enough to keep up with some of the quicker wings he saw.
Besides his body, the other potential limitation on Sisley's minutes this year would be his shooting ability. At 53.8% from the free throw line, I wouldn't expect him to make a huge leap in that area, but he did knock some down in high school as a senior at IMG Academy.
If Sisley isn't a threat from deep, it might be hard for Darian DeVries to play him alongside Yigitoglu for extended periods. Bryce Lindsey will always attract attention on the perimeter, but this team is less proven from 3-point range, which would make things crowded in the paint with Sisley and Yigitoglu on the floor together.
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Whatever his role on the floor, I expect Sisley to be a leader on this team. His decision to stick around – especially having to earn his minutes again in year two – means something in the age of the portal, when it would have been easy to find a place he could start.
He's also an Indiana kid, steeped in the program's tradition and aware of what it should mean to play in an arena like Assembly Hall. With a roster of transfers, DeVries is lucky to have a guy like that around.
*All of this is pending Sam Alexis' eligibility, which brings both more experience and another proven frontcourt body.
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