It's been a roller coaster of emotions for the Indiana Hoosiers when it comes to the eligibility of Sam Alexis for the upcoming college basketball season. Darian DeVries remained open to the idea of a late roster addition, and even intentionally left a roster spot open throughout the summer.
It looked like a great move, as earlier this month a court ruling from a U.S. District Court judge in Colorado granted a preliminary injunction to plaintiffs challenging the NCAA’s new age-based eligibility rule. The decision gave thousands of athletes in the high school Class of 2022 another year of eligibility, and among them was Alexis. Shortly after that decision, Alexis announced his plans to return to Bloomington.
However, things took a sharp turn this week when the Tennessee Court of Appeals stayed the injunction previously granted to the plaintiff athletes pending appeal. In short, that means that Alexis' return to the Hoosiers is now in serious danger. He is currently deemed ineligible, and if that decision holds, it would hand the Hoosiers a tough blow.
Alexis being ruled ineligible would be crushing for several reasons:
Indiana would lose a proven frontcourt presence
DeVries made no secret about Indiana's frontcourt struggles last season. The Hoosiers simply lacked the size and athleticism at the 4 and 5 positions that is needed in the Big Ten. Re-vamping the frontcourt was a top priority for DeVries and his staff during the offseason, and some solid additions were brought in through the transfer portal.
Alexis is a proven frontcourt presence who would bring valuable experience to the 2026-27 Hoosiers. Alexis has four seasons of college basketball under his belt after spending two seasons at Chattanooga, one season at Florida, and one season at Indiana. He also has championship pedigree, as he was part of the Gators' National Championship team in 2024-25. He appeared in all 32 games with 23 starts for IU last season while averaging 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.
The Hoosiers need to be a much better offensive rebounding team in 2026-27, and Alexis could help with that effort. He led the Hoosiers with 60 total offensive rebounds and 1.9 offensive boards per game on an IU team ranked dead last in the Big Ten with just 8.1 offensive rebounds per contest. Sherrell and Yigitoglu figure to lead the way in that category this year, but Alexis is more than capable of helping out in a major way. Not having that depth would sting.
Valuable roster continuity would be lost
In today's era of college basketball, the transfer portal plays a major role in roster construction. But too much roster turnover on a year-in year-out basis can be tough to navigate. The best programs find a strong balance between bringing strong contributors back and plugging in gaps via the portal.
In Bloomington, DeVries' two rosters at Indiana have almost exclusively been made up of transfers. There hasn't been much roster continuity, with sophomore Trent Sisley being the lone returner from last year's roster. Alexis coming back could help in that effort. He is familiar with DeVries' coaching style and offensive system, and as a 5th-year senior, would bring plenty of veteran experience to the table.
Indiana would greatly miss Sam Alexis’ defensive impact
The Hoosiers were not a strong shot-blocking team last year. Indiana averaged 2.7 blocks per game, which ranked 13th in the Big Ten.
Alexis was IU's most dependable asset on the shot-blocking front, as he contributed a team-leading 1.2 blocks per game. That mark was twice as high as Tucker DeVries’ 0.6 blocks per game, which ranked 2nd on the team. Not having that kind of returning production from Alexis would put a lot of pressure on newcomers Aiden Sherrell (Alabama) and Samet Yigitoglu (SMU).
All in all, the NCAA eligibility mess continues to bring even more confusion and chaos. The situation is changing by the day, so hopefully some good news comes Indiana's way soon. But if not, losing Alexis after thinking he was coming back would be a tough pill to swallow.
Add us as a preferred source on Google