Michigan State season preview: Fears leads a veteran core

Where last season ended

Michigan State finished 27-8 overall and 15-5 in Big Ten play. That record tied Illinois and Nebraska, and the NCAA standings placed the Spartans third in the conference. Michigan State was a third seed in the NCAA tournament and lost 67-63 to second-seeded UConn in the East Regional semifinal, the Sweet 16. Tom Izzo is the head coach, now in his 32nd season.

Who is gone

Jaxon Kohler has committed to BYU for next season if he is eligible. Carson Cooper signed a two-way NBA contract. Trey Fort and Denham Wojcik are also gone. Divine Ugochukwu transferred to LSU.

Who is back

Jeremy Fears Jr., a guard listed as a redshirt junior, is the Big Ten preseason Player of the Year, chosen by a media panel (Big Ten Conference). He averaged 15.0 points and 9.0 assists last season, and the conference reported that he led the country in assists per game at 9.4. Coen Carr, a senior forward, and Kur Teng, a junior guard, return. Cam Ward, a sophomore forward, and Jordan Scott, a sophomore forward, are back. Jesse McCulloch, a redshirt sophomore forward, returns too.

Kaleb Glenn, a redshirt junior forward who transferred from Florida Atlantic, is back after an injury kept him out of the entire 2025-26 season (Inside the Hall).

Who is new

Anton Bonke, a 7-2 senior center, transferred from Charlotte. Positions, heights, and class years come from the Michigan State roster page. The freshman class is listed below.

Incoming freshmen

Michigan State adds four freshmen. 247Sports ranked the class No. 2 nationally in its January 2026 update, behind Duke.

• Ethan Taylor, center, 7-2, Link Academy (Mo.), Kansas City, Kan. (No. 28 in the 247Sports Class of 2026 rankings, January 22, 2026 update)
• Carlos Medlock Jr., guard, 5-11, Link Academy (Mo.), Westland, Mich. (No. 45 in the same update)
• Jasiah Jervis, guard, 6-4, Archbishop Stepinac High School, Bronx, N.Y. (No. 33 in the same update)
• Julius Avent, forward, 6-7, Bergen Catholic High School, Springfield, N.J. (No. 84 in the same update)

The number to know

The number is KenPom net rating, also called adjusted efficiency margin. It is points scored minus points allowed per 100 possessions, adjusted for opponent strength and pace. Michigan State finished the 2025-26 season at +28.76, 10th among Division I teams in KenPom's final ratings. Michigan led the country at +39.70, and Illinois was fifth at +33.66.

The figure covers the full 2025-26 season. It shows how efficiently the team played across the year. It does not show how the frontcourt changes after Kohler and Cooper left, whether Glenn returns at full strength, or how Fears's workload will hold up. KenPom tracks close-game luck separately, and this number does not include it.

Questions for this season

Can the frontcourt replace Kohler and Cooper? Ward, Glenn, McCulloch, and Bonke are the main options. Inside the Hall's offseason look said the frontcourt might not be good enough to win the Big Ten on its own, so this is the question to watch.

How much of the offense runs through Fears? He led the team in scoring and assists last season, and he will carry a larger share of the load if the newcomers need time to adjust.

How quickly does Glenn return to form? He missed a full season, so his early minutes and efficiency will show how much he can add.

Our early read

Our tier is Contender (top 4), and our projected conference finish is second. Michigan State returns its best player and most of its core, and its 2025-26 margin ranked 10th nationally. The frontcourt is the reason for caution. Fears gives the Spartans a reliable base, and the rest of the roster must show it can match that with size and defense.