Indiana Basketball Recruiting: Hoosiers Land 2025 Shooting Wing Trent Sisley

Indiana basketball’s first 2025 recruiting domino fell with the commitment of four-star Trent Sisley. It’s a solid first step for a Hoosiers program hoping to rebuild star talent as they continue to pursue more in-state talent in Jalen Haralson and Braylon Mullins. Landing Mullins’ AAU teammate at Indiana Elite could bode well for that future recruitment.

Playing with the aforementioned Indiana Elite program on the Adidas 3SSB circuit, the 6’7 forward averaged 12.9 points, 5.7 boards and 1.3 assists on 59.6% true shooting, according to Synergy. He’s a sturdy, workmanlike perimeter/big hybrid who makes sense as a long-term role player for Mike Woodson’s Indiana program. 

Trent Sisley’s floor spacing potential

Sisley’s size and floor spacing are his premier traits for his next-level appeal. Across his final two AAU seasons, Sisley shot 37.8% (48/127, 2.89 attempts per game) from deep. Sisley’s shooting off of the catch is effective, nailing 42.1% of his unguarded catch-and-shoot triples. 

He’s comfortable shooting some basic one-dribble jumpers, though Sisley will be best as a complementary shotmaker. His lower volume and middling free-throw percentage (69%) could mean some worries for shooting translation to the next levels on higher volume, though Sisley should function as a standstill shooting specialist. 

Sisley scored efficiently at the rim this past AAU season, converting 61.5% of his shots there on a strong 58.8% frequency. Similar to his shooting, Sisley operates best as an off-catch attacker, cutter and cleanup artist. According to Synergy, Sisley spends 57.3% of his play types on cuts, transition and offensive rebounds. He’s a heady cutter off of opposing drives with the motor to grab boards and impact the game without the ball.

Trent Sisley’s development points

Though Trent Sisley isn’t a creator by any means, he has a bit of off-catch attacking juice when defenses close out hard to him. Sisley struggles to make consistent decisions with the ball and doesn’t bend defenses as he’s not a dynamic athlete without elite skill on the ball. He’s fairly fast for a 6’7 player, so there could be some offensive development if he can tap into those movement skills.

Sisley’s creation limitations likely cap his ceiling as an eventual pro prospect. He’s not a prolific passer either (0.53 assist-to-turnover ratio). Unless Sisley develops into a nuclear shooter, he may lack the on-ball juice to succeed on the ball or the size to play as a full-time big. This could bode well for Indiana, though, as Sisley looks primed for a longer college basketball career.

Defensively, Trent Sisley’s athletic limitations once again rear their heads. His lack of elite size, strength and explosion limit his off-ball defensive playmaking especially; Sisley averaged 0.8 stocks (steals + blocks) per game this past season. 

He’s a pretty solid defender on the ball, moving his feet and opening his hips smoothly to slide with wings and even some less explosive guards. But when ballhandlers can turn Sisley’s hips and open him up, recovery is a challenge. Without excellent length or explosion, Sisley can’t always make up for his and his teammates’ mistakes on the defensive end.

Trent Sisley’s future outlook

Trent Sisley probably won’t develop into a sure-fire NBA prospect, at least not in the near future. It’s easy to imagine Sisley as a three or four-year impact college player, though. His shooting off of the catch and off-ball scoring bode well for his scalability and lineup versatility, allow him to fit with a myriad of different player types and styles.

Sisley has experience playing and thriving on great teams, as Indiana Elite was one of the country’s best AAU teams with future possible NBA talent in Mullins and Malachi Moreno. College coaches value that ability to take a backseat and pass up shots to other players while also scoring enough on their own like Sisley can.

Tall shooters always carry value at any level of basketball and especially in college. Indiana teams have struggled to shoot the ball over the last few years, so the addition of Trent Sisley should help construct the foundation of the program. Reliable role players are critical for success in the tournament, making the Sisley commitment an important first domino for the Hoosiers’ future.