BLOOMINGTON — A panel of USA TODAY Network voters sees Indiana basketball as a potential mid-pack Big Ten team in Darian DeVries‘ first season as coach.
Projections culled from a 14-person panel slotted the Hoosiers 10th in 2025-26 USA TODAY Network preseason poll, right behind Iowa — helmed by fellow first-year coach Ben McCollum — in ninth.
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Additionally, voters pegged Tucker DeVries, DeVries’ son and the two-time Missouri Valley Conference player of the year, and Lamar Wilkerson each honorable mention All-Big Ten.
Purdue‘s Braden Smith was picked to repeat as conference player of the year.
Here’s how I voted, what went into my thinking and the panel’s ranking and preseason picks.
Zach Osterman’s preseason Big Ten basketball voting methodology
As a member of said voting panel, it’s fair to say I’ve never struggled with this process more.
Rosters have become too fluid. Transfers change the face of entire programs annually and, with them, all the old conventions about locker room chemistry, program culture and what to expect from freshmen.
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Often for the better, of course. When handled correctly, the formula still leads to winning. It’s just so much harder to discern from the outside looking in.
So, I cheated off someone else’s test.
I leaned hard on Bart Torvik’s preseason rankings, promising myself at the outset I would never deviate more than a handful of spots from what Bart’s data tells us.
My reasoning was simple: If we cannot know with anything resembling the old certainty what to expect, year to year, then at least the data gives us historical footing to stand on. It relies on more than intuition and prior performance, and enjoys greater context than most of us can provide in a wide-lens way, so that’s where I landed.
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And so, my preseason poll:
1. Michigan
2. Purdue
3. UCLA
4. Michigan State
5. Illinois
6. Oregon
7. Wisconsin
8. Indiana
9. Iowa
10. USC
11. Maryland
12. Ohio State
13. Northwestern
14. Rutgers
15. Washington
16. Nebraska
17. Minnesota
18. Penn State
Preseason player/teams of the year
This was not quite so stressful. We have more historical context on these players, and there’s a greater degree of confidence in individual outcomes.
FIRST TEAM
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Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
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Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
SECOND TEAM
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Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
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Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
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John Blackwell, Wisconsin
Feels like it’s going to be a guard-heavy year in the league.
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Big Ten preseason player of the year
Braden Smith, Purdue
An obvious choice.
Big Ten preseason newcomer of the year
Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan
Learn this name. Lendeborg considered staying in the NBA draft but Michigan really came through for Dusty May resources-wise, and that planted the 6-foot-9 UAB transfer in Ann Arbor.
Big Ten preseason freshman of the year
Kayden Mingo, Penn State
My order of finish tells you what I think the Nittany Lions will do this year. But in an otherwise mixed class, broadly speaking, Mingo (247Sports No. 34, No. 4 combo guard) will see a lot of the ball and a lot of the action. If the Nittany Lions have any chance at a better-than-expected season, he figures to play a significant role.
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This year’s voters were also asked to get specific about the teams they cover, and provide some analysis specific to what’s coming this winter locally. We were asked to fill in three blanks: breakout player, impact transfer and burning question. So I said …
Indiana basketball breakout player
Trent Sisley, freshman forward
We want to mention Nick Dorn, the Elon transfer, here. He’s long, lean and dangerous, having averaged more than 15 points per game last season at Elon. But Dorn spent much of the summer recovering from an injury and could not play during the Puerto Rico trip, so we’ll go with Indiana’s only scholarship holdover from Mike Woodson’s tenure. Sisley, an Indiana native, spent his senior prep season at Montverde Academy in Florida. It did him significant good, on current evidence.
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Every time we’ve seen Sisley in practice or game action as a Hoosier, he’s looked comfortable and confident at this level. The athletic jump doesn’t overwhelm him, and at 6-8, his ability to stretch his offense beyond the 3-point line makes him a matchup problem. Sisley will likely spend this season playing from the bench, but don’t be shocked if he has some wow moments at both ends of the floor.
Indiana basketball impact transfer
Lamar Wilkerson, Sam Houston State
It’s a dead heat between Wilkerson and DeVries. We’ll give Wilkerson the nod here largely because of DeVries’ recent injury history. If DeVries stays healthy across the course of the season, he’ll compete for this place.
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For now, we’ll go with Wilkerson, who might wind up the best pure shooter-scorer Indiana has had in years. His three-level ability matches the lethal range he developed at Sam Houston State. Darian DeVries’ ball screen-heavy, motion-based offense should free Wilkerson for healthy shot volume this winter. Expect him to feature prominently for Indiana.
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Indiana basketball burning question
Will Indiana be good enough defensively?
DeVries’ Drake teams were solid, and West Virginia nearly defended its way to the NCAA tournament last season after injuries kneecapped its offense. This group has work to do. The Hoosiers should be able to fill the basket offensively. But what we saw during their preseason tour of Puerto Rico suggests a lack of both size and elite lateral athleticism will require DeVries to coach them through some rocky stretches at the other end of the floor.
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If DeVries’ pack-line principles can compensate for his team’s deficiencies, it will be a fun year in Bloomington. If not, the Hoosiers could be sweating all the way to Selection Sunday.
So, there you have it. Your thorough, thought-out, can’t-miss look at the Big Ten basketball season about to begin.
When the conference gathers this week for media days in suburban Chicago, maybe we’ll find out whether the coaches agree with us. Less than a month now until the ball is tipped.
See the panel’s full voting results below.
USA TODAY Network preseason Big Ten basketball poll, rankings
2025-26 preseason All-Big Ten basketball teams
FIRST TEAM
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Braden Smith, Purdue, guard, Sr. (unanimous selection)
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Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue, forward, Sr. (unanimous selection)
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Yaxel Lendeborg, Michigan, forward, Sr.
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Donovan Dent, UCLA, guard, Sr.
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Bennett Stirtz, Iowa, guard, Sr.
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SECOND TEAM
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Bruce Thornton, Ohio State, guard, Sr.
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John Blackwell, Wisconsin, guard, Jr.
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Nick Martinelli, Northwestern, forward, Sr.
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Nate Bittle, Oregon, center, Sr.
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Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois, guard, Jr.
HONORABLE MENTION
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Illinois: Tomislav Ivisic
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Indiana: Tucker DeVries, Lamar Wilkerson
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Michigan State: Coen Carr, Jeremy Fears, Jaxon Kohler
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Oregon: Jackson Shelstad
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Washington: Wesley Yates Jr.
Big Ten preseason player of the year
Purdue point guard Braden Smith was a near unanimous pick — all but one vote went to the Boilermakers’ floor general. The lone dissenting voice was for Smith’s teammate, Trey Kaufman-Renn. Last season’s Big Ten player of the year, Smith, needs just 125 points and 242 assists to become the first player in NCAA history with 1,500 points, 1,000 assists and 500 rebounds.
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Big Ten preseason newcomer of the year
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg received 46% of the vote. UCLA guard Donovan Dent (New Mexico transfer) and Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz (Drake transfer) also received multiple votes. Lendeborg opted for Ann Arbor instead of the NBA draft. He spending three years in community college before transferring to UAB for two seasons. He averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 steals last year and was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
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Big Ten preseason freshman of the year
Michigan guard Trey McKenney received 38% of the vote. Purdue’s Omer Mayer and Michigan State’s Cam Ward also received multiple votes. McKenney was Michigan’s Mr. Basketball and a McDonald’s All American, and is the first Flint, Michigan, product to commit to the Wolverines since Glen Rice.
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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Big Ten college basketball picks, predictions, rankings, how Indiana fares
