2025-26 IU basketball player profile: Reed Bailey

Reed Bailey drives the ball in an IU basketball open practice.

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 senior Reed Bailey.

Previously: Andrej Acimovic, Trent Sisley, Aleksa Ristic, Josh Harris, Jasai Miles, Nick Dorn, Jason Drake, Lamar Wilkerson, Conor Enright, Tayton Conerway

A top 200 recruit in the class of 2022 out of Brewster Academy, Reed Bailey showed steady development over a three-year career at Davidson College.

A native of Harvard, Massachusetts, Bailey was on the high-major radar as a recruit, with offers from Boston College, Kansas State, Iowa, Maryland, Xavier and Virginia Tech, among others.

But Bailey smartly chose to play in the Atlantic 10 and immediately got minutes in the Wildcat frontcourt as a freshman.

In his first season at Davidson, the 2022-23 campaign, Bailey started all 32 games at Davidson and averaged 5.5 points and 2.8 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per game. He scored in double figures five times, including 20 points in an early-season win against San Francisco.

By his sophomore season, Bailey was one of the top bigs in the Atlantic 10. In 32 starts, his production grew to 12.7 points and 5.8 rebounds in 28.3 minutes per game. He had 21 games scoring in double figures and three double-doubles as his work on the glass improved.

Last season, as a junior, Bailey was one of the top mid-major players in the country. An All-Atlantic 10 first team selection, Bailey averaged 18.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 33.3 minutes. He was one of just two players nationally at 6-foot-10 or taller to amass 600 points, 200 rebounds and 100 assists last season.

The passing and perimeter shooting were notable developments for Bailey in his third college season and made him even more of an appealing prospect once he entered the transfer portal.

His assist rate – 27.3 percent in conference games – ranked sixth in the Atlantic 10. And his 3-point shooting – 41.5 percent on 41 attempts – showed that he can be an actual perimeter threat.

Bailey was also one of the best in the country last season at drawing fouls. He ranked 33rd nationally, according to KenPom.com, with an average of 6.5 fouls drawn per 40 minutes. His free-throw rate, defined as FTA/FGA, was 47.7 percent in Atlantic 10 games, the eighth-best in the league.

Not long after entering the portal last spring, Bailey committed to Indiana in early April before he even visited campus.

As his senior season in Bloomington nears, there’s no shortage of intrigue with Bailey. His ability to put the ball on the floor and drive to the basket is unique for a player of his size. He can finish plays with both hands at the rim and is a stellar passer who can facilitate offense. His 3-point volume could increase as he becomes more comfortable with that aspect of his game.

The concern, of course, surrounds his rim protection. Indiana is likely to start Bailey at the five and shot blocking is not a strength of his game. The Hoosiers do have Sam Alexis, a more capable interior defender, but opponents are going to try to attack Bailey in the paint. The IU staff will need to avoid keeping him on an island defensively in the paint. Last season, Davidson opponents shot better than 60 percent at the rim with Bailey on the floor.

Bottom line: Bailey has guard-like ball handling ability and will be one of the better passing big men in the Big Ten this season. He will be able to draw defenders away from the basket and also start the break for the Hoosiers, as Darian DeVries has already said he’s comfortable with that. While there are question marks about his ability to guard in the paint, opposing bigs will also have to contend with his versatility and mobility.

Quotable: “I just love Reed’s feel and IQ to play make off the bounce, he can shoot it. He has a great understanding of the game, screening, all that stuff. I’ve been really impressed with Reed. Our challenge as a coaching staff is, I think Reed’s really unique because he’s incredibly fast and he handles like a 6-1 guard, he can bring it up in the open floor, he can make plays so he’s someone that we’re going to have to get a little creative with on how to best utilize some of his skillsets and talents because I do think he can present some problems, especially on that offensive end.” – DeVries to Inside the Hall in late June.

(Photo credit: IU Athletics)

See More: Commentary, 2025-26 season preview, Reed Bailey