Indiana men's basketball forward Sam Alexis announced Sunday that he will return to the Hoosiers for the 2026-27 season after receiving a court injunction granting him a fifth year of eligibility.
Alexis made the announcement on Instagram, posting, " Let’s do it again Hoosier Nation ️," confirming his return to Bloomington after Friday's ruling made him eligible for another collegiate season.
The 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward rejoins an Indiana frontcourt that already added University of Alabama transfer Aiden Sherrell and Southern Methodist University transfer Samet Yigitoglu during the offseason, giving Indiana head coach Darian DeVries three experienced high-major big men entering his second season with the Hoosiers.
Just weeks before announcing his return, Alexis and the Hoosiers represented Team USA at the FISU America Games in Lima, Peru. He totaled 39 points, 14 rebounds, five assists and four blocks across three games while shooting 18-for-22 from the field.
After transferring from the University of Florida before the 2025-26 season, Alexis appeared in all 32 games for Indiana and started the final 23 contests. He averaged 8.8 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.2 blocks per game while setting Indiana's single-season record for field goal percentage at 68.7%.
With the addition of Alexis, Indiana now has 13 players on scholarship for the 2026-27 season.
The Hoosiers are now expected have a deeper rotation than they had in year one with DeVries, as the bench only scored 19.7 points per game in the 2025-26 season, a weakness in Indiana’s squad last season.
Last season, Indiana's rotation lacked depth, with graduate student guard Lamar Wilkerson and redshirt senior Tucker DeVries each averaging 34 minutes per game while only six players averaged more than 20 minutes per contest.
The bench’s production declined further over the final 10 games of the season, as Indiana's reserves averaged only 12.6 points per game, accounting for just 18% of the team's offensive production.
Beyond the overall lack of depth, Indiana had just two players rotating at center. In a Big Ten conference constantly loaded with elite post talent, the Hoosiers were often outmatched physically and stretched thin in the frontcourt.
The lack of size also forced some of Indiana's best shooters to play out of position, creating difficult matchups on both ends of the floor. Tucker DeVries and junior guard Nick Dorn, who each attempted more than two-thirds of their field-goal attempts from three-point range, frequently shifted to the power forward position despite both being perimeter-oriented players.
Now, with an abundance of talent and depth in the frontcourt, Indiana appears better equipped to battle through a loaded Big Ten schedule. The additions of Sherrell and Yigitoglu, coupled with Alexis' return, give the Hoosiers the size, experience and depth needed to address many of the issues that plagued them a season ago.
