This is usually one of my least favorite articles to write as it means the season has ended for Tom Izzo and the Men’s Basketball Team. This year, it feels even tougher for me as we just said goodbye to the guys who were freshmen when I first started working for The Only Colors. But, as they say, life goes on. And, as Coach Izzo stated in his post-game press conference, he is already looking ahead to next season. So we will do the same.
As I do each year, I am going to make a projection of what next
year’s rotation could look like. The assumptions I always work with for this first look is that 1) all 4-year players are out of eligibility and will not be returning (Covid years are fortunately a thing of the past so I think I can stop saying this), and 2) all players who have played less than four years will be back. I am not going to predict any transfer portal activity (other than to predict that there will be activity).
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The five players who were seniors this season and who will not be returning are Carson Cooper, Jaxon Kohler, Nick Sanders, Denham Wojcik, and Trey Fort.
There are ten returning players: Coen Carr, Jeremy Fears Jr., Kur Teng, Jesse McCulloch, Cam Ward, Jordan Scott, Divine Ugochukwu, Kaleb Glenn, and Brennan and Colin Walton.
In addition to the returning players, Tom Izzo is bringing in one of the nation’s best recruiting classes, 2nd according to 247Sports, with four 4-star freshmen joining the team. Those names are Carlos Medlock Jr., Jasiah Jervis, Julius Avent, and Ethan Taylor.
As I started to think about next year’s lineup, the easy assumption to make was that the three returning players who finished this season as starters – Fears, Scott, and Carr – would slot into their same positions next season. In that case, MSU would have continuity at point guard and on the wings. We would just need to identify a new starting front court as Kohler and Cooper are moving on to their next chapters.
From the names above, we have four players who are either power forwards or centers. One of those four was a true freshman this year and was a regular part of the rotation, though he had inconsistent results. A second name was a redshirt freshman this year and was out of the rotation by the end of the season. And the other two are incoming freshmen. Going with this plan, it would mean having two bigs who are first-time starters. We at TOC headquarters discussed this and we all agree that this will not end up happening.
Instead, we project Coach Izzo is going to take a different approach to next year’s starting lineup and rotation.
STARTERS
Point Guard: Jeremy Fears, Jr.
Not much to discuss here. Jeremy Fears was a 2nd-team All-American in 2025-26 and led the nation in assists. He will probably be discussed as a candidate for preseason player of the year ahead of ‘26-27.
Shooting Guard: Divine Ugochukwu
This was the spot with the most internal debate as there were three names that received votes here. In the end, we are going with the name that had been a starter for the majority of last season up until his injury. In 22 games, Ugo got the nod 12 times. While he wasn’t the most prolific scorer, not even compared to another name in this conversation, he did shoot a team best 44% from deep (not including McCulloch and the Walton Twins who all shot 50% on low volume). He also gives Izzo a 2nd player who can bring the ball up and operate the offense, something we have seen that Coach appreciates (think Hoggard and Walker).
Small Forward: Jordan Scott
Scott moves to the other wing position. The biggest implication of this projection is that it could change who on the opposing team that Scott defends. Offensively, we are looking for more of the same from the sophomore-to-be. Scott needs to continue being that hustle guy who gets loose balls and long offensive rebounds to give MSU extra opportunities. Hopefully he can improve on his respectable 37% shooting from 3. And with some additional work with the strength & conditioning staff this offseason, he should be able to remain a positive factor through the end of next season.
Power Forward: Coen Carr
Yep, we are predicting that MSU trots out a small-ball starting lineup next year. Flight 55 will slot in at the power forward spot. Yes, he will give up some inches on defense to some of the bigger PFs out there. We need those previously mentioned S&C guys to figure out how to build up Carr’s leg strength so he can hold his ground in the low block without sacrificing his power and explosive vertical. The other development we want to see from Carr is an improved three-point shooting percentage so he can function as a stretch-4 when needed.
Center: Ethan Taylor
We are going with the incoming 7-footer to man the middle for the Spartans. 247 has Taylor as the 28th ranked player in the class and 3rd ranked center. At 7’0” and 244 pounds (according to 247; other sites have him between 6’11” and 7’1” and as light as 230), he is already built like a Big Ten big man. We need the hype to be real as our interior is facing some major attrition this offseason.
RESERVES
Point Guard: Carlos Medlock Jr.
Another true freshman who we expect to have a big role next season. Medlock is going to see the court early and often next year in an effort to prepare him for the Big Ten season. He will be depended on to be a more serviceable backup PG than we had in this past season.
Shooting Guard: Kur Teng, Jasiah Jervis
Here we begin to see the depth that MSU will have on the wings in 2026-27. Teng has some starting experience and became much more dependable in the later parts of this past year. He ended up our 5th leading scorer at 7.3 PPG and shot 38% from beyond the arc.
Jervis is just a few lines down from Taylor on 247Sports’ at 33rd in the class and 4th among SGs. ESPN actually has him higher than Taylor at #25 with an 89 grade. He did receive one vote from a TOC writer to earn the starting 2-spot.
Small Forward: Kaleb Glenn
One of the big “what-ifs” of this past year is what could Glenn have added to this team. At his prior stop at Florida Atlantic, Glenn was a double-digit scorer with a 12.6 PPG average and a 41% 3-point shooting rate. He may have been the solution to our perimeter offense issues. By the time next season rolls around, it will have been over a year since Glenn’s knee injury and surgery. Hopefully that will have been enough time for him to complete the rehab, as some reports already say he has, and regain his shooting touch.
Power Forward: Cam Ward
Ward, who had 18 points and 10 rebounds in just his second college game against a strong Arkansas team, will be coming off the bench again next year. When he does, though, he will offer the Spartans a chance to adjust from their small-ball starting lineup. At 6’8” and 225, he resembles a PF much more than the player ahead of him on the 2-deep, Carr. It really is not his fault that we are projecting this strategic change and keeping Ward on the bench; if one of the starting bigs were returning next year, we probably would have felt more comfortable having Ward start and keeping both Scott and Carr on the wings. We did not want to have new starters at both the 4- and 5-spots, so this was feels like the most logical way around that.
Center: Jesse McCulloch
After taking a redshirt his first year and then ending up in the doghouse in his second, McCulloch will finally get his chance for regular play. Now as the backup to a freshman rather than a senior, we know there are going to be times when Izzo pulls Taylor out of the game to coach up the freshman. Hard to see Coach playing Taylor more than 20-25 minutes, so by default, McCulloch could be seeing 15-20 per game. In addition, with his reliable three-point shot, having Jesse on the floor with fellow big man reserve Ward, who lacks a deep shot, will maintain the Spartans’ ability to stretch opposing defenses.
Clearly there is a sudden urgency for Tom Izzo to hit the portal hard and build up the depth of next year’s squad. The Tre Holloman news really is giving me a lot to think about. After being in the locker room after Sunday night’s loss and hearing some of Jase’s comments, I was certain he was moving on. But the Holloman news is giving me second thoughts. I do not understand why Tre is leaving unless he believes Jase will return. Or, as some of you have pointed out in the comments already, maybe he is just doing some NIL shopping. He does still have the ability to withdraw his name from the portal, and I do not think Izzo would object to his return.
Even if both Jase and Tre come back, there is not much depth. Another perimeter player who can shoot and another big who can give minutes down low will be needed. We won’t try to speculate who is coming, though we will report if anyone from the portal makes a visit to E.L. And with any additions (or further subtractions), we will edit our projections for next season’s rotation.
DEEP RESERVES
Julius Avent
The last of the freshmen, Avent, is the lowest ranked member of this incoming class. That said, he is still a top-100 guy in this cycle, and is 247’s #13 PF. Be that as it may, we believe Julius will be buried in the depth chart. He could either be a guy who gets on the floor when Izzo clears the bench late or he may be a candidate for a redshirt.
Brennan Walton
Colin Walton
The Walton Twins hit the box score this year after both redshirting their first season in East Lansing. They had an all-time great highlight when they hit back-to-back triples in garbage time against Toledo. We look forward to more identical performances from the identical twins next year.
Again, this is just the first edition of this article. As news of players leaving and joining the program inevitably rolls in, we will update the projections.
What do you think? Does MSU go to a small starting lineup? Or does Carr stay on the wing? Do you have a different starting 5?
