As Indiana men’s basketball worked to rebuild its roster for 2026-27, Trent Sisley knew he had a role to play — by default.
Sisley is the lone scholarship player returning to the Hoosiers from 2025-26, as the rest of last season’s players either exhausted their eligibilities or hit the transfer portal. The Santa Claus, Indiana native was the only player who could talk to portal visitors as a potential teammate and peer about the program and his experiences. He went out to dinner with many of Indiana’s transfer portal recruits and connected with them on social media this spring.
“I think I had to be (helpful), because I was the only one. Just going out to dinner with those guys, getting to know them. That was a little fun for me,” Sisley said after a summer practice Thursday. “They have questions they want to know (answers to). And then obviously, trying to sell Bloomington and Indiana to them in general.”
Sisley hasn’t experienced the transfer portal himself, but he offered up what he could to help IU visitors become comfortable with the program. He talked to those players about head coach Darian DeVries’ system, and said it’s really good.
Perhaps subconsciously, he did a little evaluating himself. As the transfer portal visitors explored Bloomington and decided if the Hoosiers were a good fit for them, Sisley could gauge their personalities a bit and see if they’d be a good fit in the locker room. But ultimately, he didn’t do too much of that.
“I trust coach. I know he’s not going to bring in people that he doesn’t think will fit. So as they’re on their visits, I know they’ll all fit here,” Sisley said. “And all the dudes we got so far have been really good.”
Sisley never really pondered entering the portal, himself, and leaving Indiana. He said he’s really comfortable in Bloomington, and indicated quickly to DeVries this offseason that he’d return.
That gave way to an interesting offseason regimen for the now-sophomore. As the only returnee, he wasn’t doing group workouts — he was essentially working one-on-one with head strength and conditioning coach Ryan Horn.
It was a little strange to not have teammates around to work out with, but Sisley made the most of it. He’s bulked up a bit since the end of last season.
“I got on a routine with coach Horn, and it ended up being really nice,” Sisley said. “There was a lot of one-on-one, so (it was) super specific to my needs. I think that was great for me.”
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