Indiana Aims to Land Sizable High School Class Despite Transfer Portal

Joe Tipton’s prediction landed squarely on Indiana’s recruiting blueprint: “I think Indiana is actually gonna put together a pretty sizable class via high school,” Tipton told ISB Radio with Jim Coyle, and On3 reporting shows that plan already taking shape with four-star guard Prince-Alexander Moody committing last week (per On3). Moody is listed at No. 104 in the On3 Industry Rankings and No. 27 among 2026 shooting guards, while Trent Sisley remains the only 2025 high-school recruit on Indiana’s board in On3’s current tracking.

Tipton frames Indiana’s approach as selective growth: “They want to take maybe four high school guys in this class,” he said, noting many programs are eyeing roughly two high-school signees. On3’s coverage adds that “Indiana will still utilize the transfer portal” but that “ideally, Indiana will use the transfer portal to fill in holes on the roster and add to an established foundation.” On3 cautioned that “adding 10 players in the portal each year is not sustainable for the program,” a judgment that shapes why Indiana is pushing to develop more homegrown high-school talent even while courting portal veterans.

The portal reality complicates that balance. 247Sports currently ranks Indiana’s transfer portal class No. 8 with 33.08 team points, placing Indiana just behind Auburn’s 33.15 on that metric. By contrast, On3 ranks Indiana No. 13 in portal class standings and EvanMiya places Indiana at No. 14. The two transfer top-150 lists show overlapping targets but different evaluations: 247Sports lists DeVries (No. 21), Wilkerson (No. 48), Bailey (No. 65), Dorn (No. 104), Conerway (No. 107) and Miles (No. 114); On3’s top-150 entries include DeVries (No. 20), Bailey (No. 37), Wilkerson (No. 38), Conerway (No. 83), Alexis (No. 103), Harris (No. 134) and Dorn (No. 144).

State-level eligibility changes add urgency. House Bill 1064 passed the Indiana House and Senate in April, and Outsidethehuddle reports that beginning June 1 the IHSAA will allow students in most situations to transfer schools for athletic reasons without losing eligibility. Neidig at the IHSAA emphasized continuity in administration: “We already have a lot of students falling within those waivers,” and “The vast majority of the students are finding their way through the transfer system with the current rules we have.” Indystar’s eligibility totals back that up — so far this year 2,537 transfers received full eligibility, 165 received limited eligibility and 28 were declared ineligible, and roughly 93% of transfers during 2023-24 and so far this year have obtained full eligibility.

Those statewide shifts come with guardrails. Outsidethehuddle notes limits on second transfers, athletes transferring as seniors and in-season moves, including a 30-day non-compete for those cases; Neidig warned that “you won’t be able to just move around the block” and gain eligibility. Outsidethehuddle also highlights transfer flagging risks tied to AAU and coaching relationships — examples where a non-school coach later takes a job at a destination school can trigger IHSAA review.

The cultural picture is already visible in Indianapolis-area rosters. Indystar observed that scanning metro Indianapolis teams will often reveal one or two players who started high school elsewhere, a pattern mirrored historically by the 1911 Crawfordsville state champion roster that featured transfer Orville Taylor from Lebanon. For Indiana’s program-building under the current staff, On3’s narrative stresses that “DeVries needs more guys who can develop within the program, and the 2026 class will be representative of that.” Notably, the surname DeVries also appears on transfer lists in both 247Sports and On3’s top-150, a naming overlap that requires verification before attribution.

Coaches and athletic directors now face a practical calculus: use the portal to plug specific roster holes indicated by 247Sports and On3 rankings while committing resources to recruiting high-school prospects such as Moody, Chase Branham (On3’s first 2027 commit over the weekend), and other On3 targets like Jeremy Jenkins and a visit from No. 2 center Ethan Taylor. That blended approach — four high-school signees where possible, selective portal additions, and careful compliance with IHSAA rules — is the strategy Tipton says Indiana is banking on as it tries to rebuild roster depth without sacrificing culture or sustainability.