Poised Freshman Trent Sisley Helps Indiana Take Down Kansas State

Indiana freshman Trent Sisley may not get plays drawn up for him often, but that doesn't stop him from impacting the game.

Late in the first half of Tuesday's contest, Sisley caught the Kansas State defense relaxing after a missed layup and sprinted down the floor. Senior Tucker DeVries rewarded him with a look-ahead pass for an easy dunk, which pushed Indiana's lead to 10 and forced Kansas State coach Jerome Tang to burn a timeout.

It excited the Assembly Hall crowd, too, but it also allowed fans to exhale a bit. After Indiana jumped out to a 20-4 lead, Kansas State whittled the deficit down to just two points about six minutes later. Sisley's dunk, along with other key baskets, gave the Hoosiers some breathing room with a double-digit lead. They never looked back in an 86-69 win.

Trent Sisley Indiana Basketball — Indiana's Trent Sisley (11) dunks against Kansas State at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall on Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025. | RIch Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Indiana has a new roster under first-year coach Darian DeVries, but aside from Sisley, it's far from an inexperienced one. Six of its main rotation players have appeared in at least 95 career college basketball games. That could make it challenging for a freshman to crack the lineup, but Sisley –– a Santa Claus, Ind. native –– has fit in well with the veteran group.

Whether it's knocking down a 3-pointer for his first basket of Tuesday's game, out-hustling the Kansas State defense for a dunk or a rebound or holding his ground on defense, Sisley has a knack for finding pockets within the game to make his mark. And for DeVries, that's just what his team needs.

"What I love about Trent –– he's a freshman and we have Tayton [Conerway] and Lamar [Wilkerson] and Tucker [DeVries] and Sam [Alexis] and Reed [Bailey] –– he doesn't get really much plays run for him right now as a freshman. But, man, he impacts the game," DeVries said. "He will fall into double digits. He will fall into rebounds because he knows how to play. He finds his role and he really capitalizes on it and a lot of it is just with effort plays. I think he does a great job with that."

Production from freshmen can be uncertain going into a season, but through six games Sisley has proven he can play at this level. His two highest-scoring games have come against Indiana's two high-major opponents, Marquette and Kansas State.

Sisley scored 15 points on 7-for-12 shooting and grabbed five rebounds against Marquette, and he finished Tuesday's win over Kansas State with 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, five rebounds and an assist.

Moving forward, on a team where interior size and strength isn't abundant, Indiana will need the 6-foot-8 freshman forward's versatility, unselfishness and toughness. DeVries believes Sisley can provide just that.

"He's long, as you guys can see. He gets out and runs," DeVries said. "He does a lot of things that, hey, you're worried about all this and then all of a sudden Trent's laying it in or Trent's getting a rebound. He's just getting better and better and more confident. You can see it in practice and it's carried over into his games. For a freshman, he's pretty poised out there for us."

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