Former Indiana men’s basketball forward Sam Alexis received a Tennessee court injunction Friday granting him a fifth year of college eligibility. Alexis could return to Bloomington, giving head coach Darian DeVries another experienced frontcourt option entering his second season at the helm of the Hoosiers.
Alexis' return stems from a legal challenge to the NCAA's new “5-for-5" eligibility model, adopted in June. Under the new rule, athletes receive five seasons of competition within a five-year eligibility window, but the NCAA initially declined to extend that opportunity to athletes who had already exhausted their eligibility under the previous rules during the 2025-26 academic year.
A federal judge issued a class-wide preliminary injunction, temporarily requiring the NCAA to restore eligibility to those athletes while the lawsuit proceeds and opening a special transfer portal window from Aug. 3-10.
Now, with the ruling, Alexis is eligible to return to college basketball for the 2026-27 season.
Given that the ruling is only a preliminary injunction, the NCAA has an opportunity to appeal the court’s ruling and further bar these athletes from returning.
The decision comes just days after DeVries said Indiana remained open to adding another player to its roster before the start of the season.
Just weeks earlier, Alexis represented Team USA with Indiana basketball at the FISU America Games in Lima, Peru. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward notched 39 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and four blocks across three games while shooting 18-of-22 from the field, continuing the efficient interior play that defined his first season in Bloomington.
Alexis could return to an already revamped Indiana frontcourt after emerging as one of the Hoosiers' most impactful interior players last season. While his offensive production steadily increased as the year progressed, his greatest value came on the glass.
Over the last two seasons, Alexis established himself as one of the nation’s elite offensive rebounders, posting offensive rebounding rates above 10% in consecutive seasons and finishing 10th overall in the Big Ten in offensive rebound rate last season.
Alexis also developed into one of the country’s most efficient finishers, ranking 16th in true shooting percentage while converting 80% of his attempts at the rim.
His presence was evident when he took the floor last season. Indiana generated offensive rebounds at a 25% higher rate than when he was on the bench, creating valuable second-chance opportunities for a team that struggled to consistently control the offensive glass.
Indiana ranked 15th in the Big Ten in offensive rebound rate last season, prompting the Hoosiers to address their lack of size in the transfer portal with the additions of University of Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell and Southern Methodist University transfer Samet Yigitoglu.
Alexis' potential return could further strengthen Indiana's frontcourt, giving the Hoosiers another experienced interior presence whose rebounding, defensive versatility and relentless energy provide added depth to a position group that has quickly become one of the team's biggest strengths entering the 2026-27 season.
With Sherrell and Yigitoglu anchoring the rotation, Indiana enters DeVries' second season with significantly more size, depth and physicality in the frontcourt than it possessed a year ago and could add more with Alexis.
While Indiana has not announced Alexis' plans following the ruling, the injunction allows one of the Hoosiers' most impactful rebounders the opportunity to return for another season.
If he elects to come back to Bloomington, Indiana would add another experienced, high-motor frontcourt player to a roster that has already emphasized size and physicality during the offseason.
