Top-100 Player List Doesn't Reflect Well On Indiana

Viewing year one of the Darian DeVries era the season through the lens of ESPN's top-100 players list, Indiana must hope the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

Just one Hoosier made the list –– put together by ESPN's Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf –– with Tucker DeVries coming in at No. 37 overall. That puts him at No. 9 among Big Ten players and behind Braden Smith, Yaxel Lendeborg, Donovan Dent, Trey Kaufman-Renn, Bennett Stirtz, Bruce Thornton, Nate Bittle and Tomislav Ivisic.

Tucker had an accomplished career playing for his father at Drake, as he won Missouri Valley Conference player of the year twice and led the Bulldogs to two NCAA Tournament appearances. He was also averaging 14.9 points and shooting 47.3% from 3-point range last season at West Virginia before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.

Tucker DeVries Indiana Basketball — Indiana's Tucker DeVries (12) makes a three-pointer against Marian at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

But in order for the 2025-26 season to be a success, the DeVries family will need some help. Indiana brought in 10 transfers this offseason, five of whom comprised the starting lineup in their first exhibition game: DeVries, Tayton Conerway, Conor Enright, Lamar Wilkerson and Reed Bailey. Coming off the bench, freshman Trent Sisley tied DeVries with a game-high 23 points.

It's also important to remember that preseason rankings are mostly speculation, especially in an era where roster movement is an at all-time high. While names like Braden Smith and JT Toppin were easy to put in the top five, there certainly will be players on the outside who make their way onto an end-of-season top-100 list.

Maybe that will be a Hoosier like Wilkerson, who averaged 20.5 points per game on 44.5% 3-point shooting last season at Sam Houston State, though there's always a bit of uncertainty when mid-major players make the jump to the Big Ten.

So here's a closer look at ESPN's top-100 player list, broken down by team with the corresponding ranking listed next to each player. The first chart features the only six teams to land four players in the top-100, one of which being from the Big Ten.

Team	Players
Houston	(17) Joseph Tugler, (21) Milos Uzan, (40) Emanuel Sharp, (48) Chris Cenac Jr.
Florida	(14) Alex Condon, (20) Thomas Haugh, (29) Boogie Fland, (81) Xaivian Lee
Purdue	(1) Braden Smith, (10) Trey Kaufman-Renn, (70) Oscar Cluff, (91) Fletcher Loyer
UConn	(19) Alex Karaban, (32) Solo Ball, (53) Silas Demary Jr., (68) Tarris Reed Jr.
St. John's	(7) Zuby Ejiofor, (38) Bryce Hopkins, (63) Ian Jackson, (79) Dillon Mitchell
Duke	(6) Cameron Boozer, (86) Nikolas Khamenia, (92) Isaiah Evans, (95) Dame Sarr

The list of teams with three players in the top 100 is especially relevant to Indiana. Not only does it include Big Ten foes like UCLA, Illinois and Ohio State, but the Hoosiers are also set to face Louisville on Dec. 6 and Kentucky on Dec. 13.

Team	Players
BYU	(2) AJ Dybantsa, (23) Richie Saunders, (52) Robert Wright III
Kentucky	(12) Otega Oweh, (28) Jayden Quaintance, (42) Jaland Lowe
Iowa State	(35) Tamin Lipsey, (36) Joshua Jefferson, (65) Milan Momcilovic
Louisville	(24) Mikel Brown Jr., (33) Ryan Conwell, (80) Isaac McKneely
Texas Tech	(3) JT Toppin, (64) Christian Anderson, (72) LeJuan Watts
UCLA	(9) Donovan Dent, (69) Eric Dailey Jr., (78) Tyler Bilodeau
Illinois	(30) Tomislav Ivisic, (67) Andrej Stojakovic, (71) Kylan Boswell
Alabama	(22) Labaron Philon Jr., (74) Aden Holloway, (99) Latrell Wrightsell
Ohio State	(25) Bruce Thornton, (82) John Mobley Jr., (100) Devin Royal
Creighton	(59) Owen Freeman, (77) Josh Dix, (83) Jackson McAndrew

Four more Big Ten teams had two players make the top-100, including Oregon, Michigan, USC and Washington. That also includes a Big Ten newcomer in UAB transfer forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who's ranked No. 5 overall and will be a handful for the Hoosiers to contain in their lone matchup on Jan. 20 in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Team	Players
Tennessee	(18) Nate Ament, (31) Ja’Kobi Gillespie
Kansas	(4) Darryn Peterson, (51) Flory Bidunga
Oregon	(27) Nate Bittle, (41) Jackson Shelstad
Michigan	(5) Yaxel Lendeborg, (73) Morez Johnson Jr.
Gonzaga	(13) Graham Ike, (66) Braden Huff
North Carolina	(26) Caleb Wilson, (58) Henri Veesaar
Auburn	(16) Tahaad Pettiford, (84) Keyshawn Hall
USC	(45) Chad Baker-Mazara, (57) Rodney Rice
Arizona	(47) Koa Peat, (60) Jaden Bradley
Arkansas	(43) Darius Acuff Jr., (87) Karter Knox
Missouri	(49) Mark Mitchell, (93) Anthony Robinson II
Washington	(56) Wesley Yates III, (88) Desmond Claude

Of the 50 teams represented on this list, 22 saw just one of their players land in the top 100. That includes Indiana with DeVries, along with four other Big Ten schools: Iowa, Wisconsin, Northwestern and Michigan State. It features a former Hoosier Malik Reneau, too, who transferred to Miami and is the only outgoing Indiana transfer to make the top-100 list.

The list also proves the point made at the beginning. Yes, Indiana would prefer to have its entire starting lineup make the top-100. And it could be at a talent deficit compared to the top of the Big Ten.

But look at the bottom of the list, and you'll find Coen Carr at No. 98 –– the only Michigan State player on the list. Yet the Spartans are ranked No. 22 in the preseason AP Top 25 poll and have been a perennial Big Ten contender under coach Tom Izzo, showing team success doesn't entirely rely on having the highest-ranked players.

Team	Player
NC State	(8) Darrion Williams
Kansas State	(11) P.J. Haggerty
Iowa	(15) Bennett Stirtz
Mississippi State	(34) Josh Hubbard
Indiana	(37) Tucker DeVries
Wisconsin	(39) John Blackwell
Northwestern	(44) Nick Martinelli
Notre Dame	(46) Markus Burton
Saint Louis	(50) Robbie Avila
Vanderbilt	(54) Devin McGlockton
San Diego State	(55) Miles Byrd
Miami (FL)	(61) Malik Reneau
Utah State	(62) Mason Falslev
Virginia	(75) Malik Thomas
LSU	(76) Dedan Thomas Jr.
Baylor	(85) Tounde Yessoufou
Texas A&M	(89) Pop Isaacs
Ole Miss	(90) Malik Dia
Providence	(94) Jason Edwards
Georgetown	(96) KJ Lewis
Syracuse	(97) Naithan George
Michigan State	(98) Coen Carr

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