2025-26 IU basketball player profile: Josh Harris

IU basketball sophomore forward Josh Harris.

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 sophomore Josh Harris.

Previously: Andrej Acimovic, Trent Sisley, Aleksa Ristic

One of two players to transfer from North Florida to Indiana this offseason, sophomore forward Josh Harris put together a solid debut season in the ASUN conference.

A 6-foot-8, 225-pound native of Pembroke Pines, Florida, Harris started all 30 games he appeared in last winter for the Ospreys.

His 13.4 points per game ranked second on North Florida’s roster behind Jasai Miles and he led the team in rebounding with 7.1 per game.

Harris shot 57.7 percent on 2s, 32.2 percent on 3s and 67.1 percent from the free-throw line. He earned ASUN all-freshman honors and was the only freshman in college basketball last season to score 400 points and grab 200 rebounds while shooting better than 55 percent from the floor.

At the end of North Florida’s 15-17 season, he entered the transfer portal to move up to the high-major level.

Following an official visit in late April, Harris announced his commitment to the Hoosiers on April 29.

“The campus was beautiful and I decided (to commit) because the coaching staff was so genuine and real,” Harris told Inside the Hall in early May. “They had a plan for everything. They’re great people, genuine-hearted people and family-oriented people.”

In IU’s early August trip to Puerto Rico for three exhibition games, Harris appeared in two games and averaged 6.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and a turnover in 8.6 minutes per game.

He shot 64.3 percent from the field – all 2-point field goal attempts – and split a pair of free throw attempts.

Perhaps foreshadowing his role in Bloomington this season, Harris was IU’s third big man behind established veterans Reed Bailey, an All-A10 selection last season, and Sam Alexis, who played two seasons at Chattanooga before his move to Florida last season.

From watching Harris in an open practice before the Puerto Rico trip, his motor stood out. Harris has solid athleticism and despite being undersized, his energy was apparent when he attacked the rim and the glass.

While he was expected to be a depth piece in the frontcourt, the question now is Harris’s health. He was in a walking boot at last week’s open practice in Bloomington and did not play in the Cream and Crimson scrimmage.

Because he was injured and did not practice, Harris didn’t speak at media day and the severity of his injury is unknown with the first exhibition game just over a week away.

If he’s able to return in the non-conference portion of the schedule, getting minutes in some of the guarantee games will be important for his development.

Bottom line: Harris is currently out with a foot injury and his status is unknown as the Hoosiers work through fall practice and prepare for the season opener against Alabama A&M. While he wasn’t expect to play heavy rotation minutes, if he’s out for an extended period of time, IU’s frontcourt depth behind Bailey and Alexis is thin.

Quotable: “Josh brings some very good physicality for us and he works incredibly hard. He’s another one of those guys that unfortunately is out, so we’ll see what that means for him here in the short term. But we really liked his approach every day. He’s one of those guys that’s in the gym working and he’s trying to develop his game. Again, from an injury standpoint we’ll see how that shakes out here for us for the next foreseeable future.” – DeVries on Harris in late September at the program’s media day.

See More: Commentary, 2025-26 season preview, Josh Harris