Indiana men’s basketball and head coach Darian DeVries have extended a scholarship offer to Martay Barnes, a five-star shooting guard in the class of 2027, according to Barnes’ social media page
Barnes currently attends Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy in Melbourne, Florida and also plays for Austin Rivers SE Elite, Austin Rivers’ team on the 3Stripes Select Basketball circuit for Adidas.
The Sunshine state native currently holds offers from Kansas, Florida, UCF, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Florida State, Ole Miss, and South Carolina, among others.
The 6-foot-3, 170-pound combo guard is also the younger brother of former Arkansas and South Carolina running back, Raheim “Rocket” Sanders who currently plays for the Los Angeles Chargers.
The On3 industry ranking considers Barnes as the No. 29 overall prospect in the 2027 class. He is also No. 4 in talent-rich Florida and No. 1 among combo guards. Both On3 and 247Sports list Barnes as a combo guard. Meanwhile, Rivals considers him a point guard, and ESPN list him a shooting guard. He is ranked as high as No. 12 overall (by Rivals) in the class.
“Honestly, it’s been crazy, man,” Barnes told KSR+ earlier this month. “Coaches are texting and calling at any time. You have to be by your phone at every moment just to be ready for a call. It’s been great.”
Barnes becomes the second player in the 2027 class to receive an Indiana offer in as many days, following this weekend’s offer to top Maryland native and guard J’Lon Lyons.
The 2027 four-star recruit is ranked No. 91 nationally according to the 247Sports Composite, he is also listed as the 21st ranked point guard and the fifth overall prospect from the state of Maryland.
Lyons is averaging 13 points, 3.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.4 made three’s per game on the adidas 3SSB circuit for New World.
Lyons entering his junior currently holds offers from Indiana, Georgetown, Mississippi State, Howard, Florida State, Texas A&M, Virginia Tech, Seton Hall, Providence, Syracuse, Oklahoma State, VCU, George Mason. He also is receiving interest from Kansas, Marquette, Illinois, Maryland, Virginia, Pittsburgh, Maryland.
Lyons received a scholarship offer from Georgetown last October when current Indiana assistant Kenny Johnson was on staff for the Hoyas. That could be key in his future recruitment and all prospects from the “DMV” area.
In the 2024-25 high school campaign, as a sophomore, he was named to the All-Metro Private School Conference (“MPSC”) first team as Clinton Grace was a top-10 team in Maryland, per MaxPreps.