2025-26 IU basketball player profile: Nick Dorn

With the start of college basketball season approaching, we’ve transitioned from our look at other Big Ten programs to our player-by-player previews of the 2025-26 IU basketball roster.

Today, our player profiles continue with junior Nick Dorn.

Previously: Andrej Acimovic, Trent Sisley, Aleksa Ristic, Josh Harris, Jasai Miles

As Darian DeVries built his first IU basketball roster last spring, he prioritized perimeter shooting.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, native Nick Dorn, DeVries added one of the best wing shooters and scorers out of the CAA conference.

The 6-foot-7 Dorn played in 55 games over two seasons at Elon, making 47 starts. The son of former NFL cornerback Torin Dorn, Nick Dorn was not heavily recruited out of high school.

But his play in two seasons for the Phoenix made him a coveted prospect in the transfer portal last spring.

As a freshman at Elon, Dorn earned CAA All-Rookie honors as he averaged 9.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 23.2 minutes per game. He shot 36.4 percent on 3s, making 60 of his 165 attempts from distance. In the first game of his college career, Dorn scored 13 points and made three 3-pointers in a loss at Wake Forest.

His second season at Elon showed even more promise. Although it was cut short – he missed the final eight games due to a foot injury – Dorn showed himself more than capable of playing at the high major level.

In Elon’s season-opener, a loss at North Carolina, Dorn torched the Tar Heels for 17 points, including a 5-for-10 performance from distance. Just four games later, he went for 24 points, including a 5-for-6 mark on triples, in an 84-77 win at Notre Dame.

Dorn scored in double figures in all but three of the 23 games he appeared in as a sophomore and averaged 15.2 points per game. He shot 74-for-211 on 3-pointers, good for 35.1 percent and 91-for-113 from the free-throw line, an 80.5 percent mark.

Dorn’s height and build are significant assets for him on the wing. DeVries has joked that IU football coach Curt Cignetti might like to have Dorn suit up on the gridiron. He can use his size to shoot over smaller defenders and his strength to bully them.

While he’s yet to suit up for the Hoosiers – he missed most of the offseason after surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his foot – he’s expected to be a rotation piece for the Hoosiers this winter. Dorn missed IU’s trip to Puerto Rico in early August for three exhibition games and didn’t participate in the Cream and Crimson scrimmage, either.

But he participated in IU’s open practice in late September, albeit only in the non-contact portions of the afternoon. DeVries said Dorn was moving towards clearance for full contact soon and the hope is that he’ll be available when the regular season tips off against Alabama A&M on Wednesday, November 5.

Bottom line: The Hoosiers are already loaded with wing shooters and Dorn will give DeVries and the IU coaching staff another option to deploy. He performed well against high-major competition at Elon — an encouraging sign —and he’s got the size and strength to play in the Big Ten. With significant time missed, Dorn has ground to make up this fall, but the expectation is that he’ll play a key role for the Hoosiers this winter.

Quotable: “Yeah, I’m a little worried after watching him run on the sidelines that Coach Cig might try and steal him from me because he can run, he can move. You’ve seen him; he’s a big, physical guy.

“As he’s working his way back, we haven’t had an opportunity to see a lot of the basketball piece. A lot of it has been shooting, some light movement stuff, but he’s certainly getting closer and closer to full health before we get into more of that live contact.

“We’re excited about him getting back whenever that time comes, but I think he’s another added piece that we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do.” – DeVries on Dorn at IU’s media day on Tuesday, September 30.

See More: Commentary, 2025-26 season preview, Nick Dorn