Saturday marked the first day college basketball staffs could make direct contact with players in the class of 2026 — rising high school juniors.
With first the transfer portal and now the class of 2025 taking precedence at the moment, this group hasn’t received a ton of publicity to this point.
But that will gradually change in the months to come.
We’ve already reported on several 2026 players, including the 12 IU has offered in the class thus far.
For IU’s list of offers, you can always check THIS PAGE, which is updated regularly and can be found on the recruiting drop down menu. We’ve also reported on several 2026 players who have taken visits to IU over the last year or more. And they’ve been listed on that recruiting prospects page as well.
But here are eight 2026 players we haven’t covered yet, who should be worth keeping in eye on in the months to come.
According to various reports, Indiana reached out to all eight over the last couple days. These are not necessarily new prospects, but additional players in 2026 the IU staff is currently interested in:
Caleb Holt: 6-foot-5 guard, Huntsville, Alabama (5-star, No. 4 overall player in class)
Jordan Smith: 6-foot-3 guard, Fairfax, Virginia (4-star, No. 9)
Derron Rippey: 6-foot-1 guard, Brooklyn, New York (4-star, No. 28)
Jayden Hodge: 6-foot-4 guard, Belmar, N.J. (4-star, No. 35)
Dean Rueckert: 6-foot-7 wing, Provo, Utah (4-star, No. 45)
Lincoln Williams: 6-foot-5 wing, Kankakee, Illinois (3-star, No. 86)
Gavin Lightning: 6-foot-6 forward, Hilliard, Ohio
Jeremiah Jackson: 6-foot-4 wing, Louisville, Kentucky
For complete coverage of IU basketball recruiting, GO HERE.
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