A few MSU winter sports teams are already underway with their seasons while several others are set to start soon. Let’s take a quick look at what’s happening in the broader world of MSU Sports.
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men’s basketball and hockey, women’s basketball, wrestling, and indoor track & field are underway with their seasons.
Women’s Basketball held on for an 81-75 victory over Illinois yesterday to improve to 13-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten. The Illini came into the game undefeated in the Big Ten at 3-0 and 13-1 overall. Illinois got as close as two points in the final minute after MSU led by double digits at halftime and by eight after the third quarter but Rashunda Jones hit some big free throws down the stretch to seal it for the Spartans.
Michigan State was already shorthanded coming into the game and suffered yet another key injury on Sunday. Senior starting guard Theryn Hallock remains out with a foot injury while fifth-year senior Isaline Alexander was lost for the season with a knee injury sustained in the Spartans’ December 28 win against Rutgers. Alexander had just recently returned from from a torn ACL that caused her to miss the entire 2024-2025 season. She had worked her way into the starting lineup and scored in double figures in four straight games going into the Rutgers game.
With Alexander and Hallock already out, Grace VanSlooten went down early in the third quarter with a shoulder injury suffered on a collision while trying to work through a screen. VanSlooten went to the locker room for most of the third quarter before returning to the bench. She attempted to return to the game to start the fourth quarter but was clearly still in a lot of pain and had to come back out after just one possession. VanSlooten contributed 15 points and nine boards in her 20 minutes of action.
Juliann Woodard played a big role during VanSlooten’s fourth quarter absence with six key points for MSU. Woodard hit a three pointer almost as soon as she stepped on the floor to put MSU up six and went 3-4 from the free throw line to help keep MSU in front.
Jones scored 15 for the Spartans and Emma Shumate had 11 in hitting 3-6 from deep along with an important reverse layup in the fourth quarter off a great pass from Ines Sotelo. Kennedy Blair led the way with 19 for the Spartans, which included going 11-12 from the free throw line. In all, the Spartans hit 21-25 from the stripe to help seal the victory.
MSU will next undertake their West Coast swing for the season with a game at Washington on Thursday, January 8 before going to Eugene, OR to face the Oregon Ducks on Sunday, January 11. The UW game tips at 9 PM Eastern and the MSU-Oregon game will start at 5 PM. Both games can be streamed on Big Ten Plus.
Wrestling was in action at the Southern Scuffle in Chattanooga, TN over the weekend. The Spartans went into the meet coming off a home loss to American University to put them at 3-2 for the season.
MSU will begin their Big Ten season against Michigan in Ann Arbor on Friday, January 9.
Track & Field. After two meets in December, the Spartans are next in action on Saturday, January 10 at the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor.
Several other sports will begin winter competition in the next few weeks, starting with a nationally-televised meet for Women’s Gymnastics this weekend.
The Spartan gymnastics team is coming off an appearance in the NCAA semi-finals last year, which means they were one of the final eight teams competing in 2025. This year, the Michigan State opens the season on Saturday January 10 at the Sprouts Farmers Market Collegiate Quad in West Valley City, UT. Here, MSU will compete with Cal, Kentucky, and Big Ten rival Michigan. The match begins at 8 PM EST and will be televised ESPN2 giving Spartan fans a great opportunity to see one their most successful programs in early season action.
Men’s and Women’s Tennis. The tennis teams are also gearing up for their winter/spring seasons. The men host Western Michigan at the MSU Indoor Tennis Center on January 14 and then travel to Kentucky on January 18. Big Ten matches start on March 6 with Nebraska coming to MSU.
Meanwhile, the women will compete at the ITA Kickoff event in College Station, TX on January 24 & 25, beginning with a match against host school Texas A&M on January 24.
Men’s and Women’s Golf. Both teams tee off their winter season in a few weeks. The women are at the Puerto Rico Classic from February 1-3 while the men begin play on January 31 at the Gantner up in Lake Wales, FL.
Softball first hits the field from February 6-8 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, FL. MSU will play games against Auburn and BYU on February 6, Longwood and Pitt on February 7, and Clemson on February 8. The Spartans look to improve on a 16-29 (6-16 in the Big Ten) 2025 season.
Baseball will open their season on February 13 with a three game series at Louisville. The team is coming off 28-27 (13-17 Big Ten) 2025 season that ended in the Big Ten tournament.
