DeVries keeps Indiana aggressive on trail, scouts IU commit Chase Branham

Darian DeVries started the spring live evaluation period with a clear message: Chase Branham is not a courtesy stop on Indiana’s board, but a priority. The Hoosiers coach was in Hamilton, Ohio, on Friday to watch Branham, a 6-foot-4 guard from Logan-Rogersville, Missouri, at the Under Armour Next event, putting an in-person stamp on one of Indiana’s most important early commitments.

That trip mattered because Branham sits at the center of how Indiana wants to rebuild its identity. He committed to the Hoosiers on Sept. 20, 2025, and recruiting services have treated him as a national top-25 to top-30 prospect in the 2027 class. Indiana has also tracked him beyond the club circuit, with Branham coming off a Missouri state championship and competing at USA Basketball Junior National Team minicamp, a profile that matches the kind of national-level talent IU wants tied to its future.

DeVries watching Branham in the opening game of the three-day recruiting window also showed how aggressively Indiana plans to work both ends of the roster calendar. The staff has remained active in the 2026 class while continuing to target immediate help through the transfer portal, a balance that has become central to college basketball roster building. DeVries said Indiana was “still recruiting and very active” for that 2026 group, and the program has already added six portal prospects and German center Clemens Sokolov this spring.

Branham’s place in that blueprint says as much about Indiana’s long game as its current one. By keeping a committed 2027 guard close, Indiana is signaling that it does not want to live only in the portal cycle. The Hoosiers are trying to lock in high school talent early, keep those relationships warm through the evaluation periods, and build a base of players who can shape the program after the short-term fixes have been made.

The broader weekend board reinforced that approach. Indiana staffers were expected to be out on the spring live trail evaluating Branham and other prospects, suggesting a recruiting effort that is both national in reach and position-specific in focus. For IU, the message from Hamilton was simple: the rebuild is not just about patching holes. It is about identifying the guards and frontcourt pieces who can define the next version of Indiana basketball.