Q&A: IU basketball recruiting target Trent Sisley on transfer to Montverde, IU, timeline

ROCK HILL, S.C. — The Daily Hoosier caught up with class of 2025 4-star forward Trent Sisley this week at the Adidas 3SSB Finals.

Sisley has been in the news a lot lately with a narrowing of his recruitment and a transfer to Montverde Academy.

Our full Q&A with Sisley is below.

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TDH: You announced the transfer to Montverde for your senior year. I assume that’s a basketball development move. What do you want to get out of that move developmentally?

Sisley: “Yeah, like you said, it’s all about bettering myself, developing. Coach (Kevin) Boyle, great coach, well respected, so I just want to go down there, work on my skills, become more perimeter oriented a little bit, and get ready to go for college.

TDH: I’ve probably asked you every year, are you a three or a four at the next level. It seems pretty clear now you want to be a wing. What is fueling that?

Sisley: I think that’s what I need to be in the long run to keep myself playing for a long time. So I’m just trying to transition to that, and obviously it will help in college too, just being able to shoot on the perimeter.

TDH: You announced your top five schools a couple weeks ago. Those seem like schools that have been central to your recruitment for a long time. I assume you don’t anticipate the move to Montverde having much of an impact on your recruitment?

Sisley: It’s not going to effect my recruitment at all. I dropped those top five before I announced my commitment to Montverde. I’m just going down there to get ready for those schools, not to get new ones.

TDH: I know you have a long family history at Heritage Hills. How tough was that decision to leave for you personally?

Sisley: It was tough for sure. I grew up there, my dad coached there, my brother played there. It was tough but I think I’ve made the decision that’s best for me.

TDH: You played at the Indiana team camp a few weeks ago, and they really turned out with all of the players, coaches and staff to watch you. What stands out about that day for you?

Sisley: It was really cool. Most of the team was there, if not everyone. Pretty much the whole staff was there to watch me and Bray (Braylon Mullins) go at it. So it was cool to be able to against him and have the whole staff and the whole team there.

TDH: What is the message that you’re consistently hearing from the IU coaching staff at this point?

Sisley: They like how hard I play, and at this point they just make it clear that they want me to commit.

TDH: Going back to you playing the three, it seems like you’d have a comparable skill set to Mackenzie Mgbako in that role?

Sisley: Obviously he shot a lot of threes last year and made a lot of threes and he’s pretty physical, so I do think that’s a good comparison. I’d say that’s fair.

TDH: Your final five schools run different stuff offensively. How do you evaluate them to see what fits you?

Sisley: Yeah, every school obviously has a different system, some are similar, most are different, but you just have to look at see how they use guys similar to you, see what your role can be there, stuff like that. I’m still just figuring all that out.

(TDH Note: Sisley is down to IU, Purdue, Michigan State, Notre Dame and Iowa.)

TDH: You’re doing the visit to IU in September with Braylon and Malachi Moreno. Do you guys ever talk about continuing to play together at the next level?

Sisley: Yeah a little bit, just because of the success we’ve had this spring. Us three getting together in college, that could be super cool. So obviously that visit should be a lot of fun.

TDH: Do you want to have this recruiting process wrapped up before you start playing games with Montverde this fall? Do you expect to sign in November?

Sisley: Yeah, after I complete all of my officials, then I’ll make a decision hopefully shortly thereafter. Yeah, early signing period (in November) is the goal.

TDH Note: Sisley has scheduled the following official visits with his finalists. He previously visited Iowa.

Purdue: September 6th
Indiana: September 20th
Notre Dame: September 28th
Michigan State: October 12th

Height: 6-7
Position: Small forward / combo forward
School/Hometown: Montverde Academy / Santa Claus, Ind.
AAU Team: Indiana Elite (Adidas)
Competition: Purdue, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Iowa (final five)
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 69 (4-star)