After last season’s devastating 20-12 season, Indiana missed the NCAA tournament for a second season in a row and departed with former head coach Mike Woodson.
After a major overhaul from top to bottom Indiana and new head coach Darian DeVries are looking to dominate in the recruiting ranks and their biggest target is Arafan Diane, the No. 1 overall-ranked center in the class of 2026.
Indiana is in the final five for class of 2026 5-star center Arafan Diane, according to a report by Joe Tipton of Rivals.
NEWS: 2026 Top-10 overall recruit Arafan Diane is down to five schools, source tells @Rivals.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) September 5, 2025
The 7-foot big man is the No. 1 ranked center in the country. He has official visits set to each of his finalists: https://t.co/zl8rRw86g9 pic.twitter.com/K4RNe5rr2s
Diane’s final five are Arkansas, Indiana, Houston, Kentucky, and Virginia. He previously cut his list down to 12 schools.
The other top schools on his list before he cut his list for a final time included: Kentucky, Houston, Kansas, Purdue, Arkansas, UConn, Virginia, Oregon, Washington, Georgia Tech, and Louisville.
The 7-foot, 280 pound Diane has scheduled official visits to each of his finalists:
- Kentucky: September 12–14
- Arkansas: September 19–21
- Virginia: September 26–28
- Indiana: October 17–19
- Houston: October 24–26
Diane is rated as the No. 15 prospect nationally in the rising senior classby the 247Sports Composite rankings. He is also ranked as the No. 1 center in the class and the No. 1 player in the state of Iowa.
The class of 2026 originally from Montreal, Canada, plays his high school basketball for Iowa United Prep in Des Moines, Iowa. The Guinean big man played last season for Institut de Sport Dynastie in Quebec.
Diane averaged 18.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.5 blocks while shooting 74.4% from the field including 58.3% (7 of 12) from three playing for Iowa United on the Adidas circuit this spring and summer stats per TDH