Written by: TJ Inman
The Indiana Hoosiers took a trip to Puerto Rico last summer and played a trio of exhibition games. It was expected that it would be the only international trip until the summer of 2029 as the NCAA only allowed one per four years.
A recent rule change makes it possible for teams to take a trip every year and head coach Darian DeVries is happy to take advantage of the new opportunity. Indiana University has not officially confirmed that the team will be representing the United States of America in the International University Sports Federation America Games. The event is scheduled to occur from July 20 to August 1 in Lima, Peru.
Participating in a foreign trip allows a team access to a period of additional practices and games. This should serve as a valuable resource for Darian DeVries to help instill some cohesion in a nearly entirely new roster. Trent Sisley is the only returning scholarship player from DeVries’ first campaign in Bloomington, with veteran players like Markus Burton, Aiden Sherrell and Jaeden Mustaf joining a trio of top 80 incoming freshmen.
The FISU organization is affiliated with FIBA so international eligibility rules very likely apply. That means Turkish international Samet Yigitoglu (as well as any other international players IU might add to the roster) would be eligible to travel and practice with the team but he would not be eligible to play in the games for Team USA.
This story will be updated as more details come out.
