WASHINGTON – In the moments after Michigan State basketball’s season ended, Tom Izzo’s first thoughts were with the senior class – particularly Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler – he won’t get to coach again.
It didn’t take long to start thinking about his other two captains, who took charge of the postgame locker room conversation after a 67-63 loss to Connecticut on Friday, March 27. And what the future holds for Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr and the Spartans next season – with the Final Four just down the road in Detroit.
“Jeremy spoke as eloquently as I’ve heard him speak. And Coen was really good. … But in 27 [NCAA Tournament] loss locker rooms, there were some tough ones, but no more cool one than this,” Izzo said afterward, pointing to the talk that included Cooper and Kohler’s farewell all the way down to the student managers. “Maybe it’s the times, maybe it’s I could feel like they were talking from their heart. Maybe because they weren’t talking about superstars that were going pro the next week.
“They were phenomenal.”
After watching Fears take “a monster step” and Carr continuing to incorporate new and exciting elements into his high-flying arsenal, Izzo admitted he didn’t know before the Spartans’ 27-8 season that they could be “an eyelash away from going to another Elite Eight.” MSU did make his 17th Sweet 16 and a record 28th straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
But next season , he admitted, would begin in earnest before this year’s Final Four would be determined. Diving into the portal, he said, meant talking to his own team first about their value and to stave off potential transfer losses – even though they are seemingly inevitable in the current college sports landscape.
Because Izzo likes what he thinks he’ll be getting back this fall to chase a second national title and nine Final Four appearance. This one would be close to home, just like it was in 2009.
“There’s some bright things in the future,” Izzo said, “and that’s what I’m going to look forward, to learn from the mistakes.”
Here is a look at where the Spartans’ roster stands heading into the offseason.
Leaving
F Jaxon Kohler
The buzz: Kohler started off as strong as any big man in Izzo’s 31 seasons, averaging a double-double before a swoon in January and February when opponents began to challenge his markedly improved shot from the perimeter. But the veteran continued to recalibrate his game as defenses adjusted to his 3-point shooting, starting to attack the basket off the dribble and incorporating more pump-fakes to eventually give himself clean looks at the basket from outside over the final month. MSU is going to miss both Kohler’s tenacity on the boards and his emotional leadership that fired up his teammates.
F/C Carson Cooper
The buzz: There may no be better floor-to-ceiling developmental success in Izzo’s 31 seasons than Cooper, who arrived as a late-add recruit and blossomed into a rim-attacking alley-oop machine thanks to pinpoint deliveries from Fears. By the end of the season, Cooper was displaying an array of low-post moves to get free for a hook shot and also showed more ability to put the ball on the floor and drive in from the free-throw line. Defensively, he has been one of the rare forces with the ability to orchestrate Izzo’s vision from the back line and showed more shot-blocking range, though another year of improved strength could have turned him into an All-Big Ten-caliber center – something Izzo has lamented in not redshirting Cooper in 2022-23.
SG Trey Fort
The buzz: Fort arrived having played at five schools in five collegiate seasons (including two at the junior college level);that hodgepodge of different coaching styles and philosophies led to uncertainty in the responsibilities Izzo demands from the guards in his gap defense. It also led to a sharp dropoff in playing time for Fort from the early nonconference games through the end of the Big Ten regular season. But once the postseason arrived, Fort showed why Izzo brought him in, delivering timely outside shooting and improved understanding of MSU’s defensive principles as he hit seven of 13 3-pointers and averaged 7.8 points with eight rebounds, four assists, two steals and two blocks in four postseason games.
PG Denham Wojcik
The buzz: Izzo brought in Wojcik, the son of assistant coach Doug Wojcik, as a one-year transfer insurance policy from Harvard after the departures of Jase Richardson, Tre Holloman and Jaden Akins from last year’s Elite Eight team. Even before Divine Ugochukwu’s season-ending injury, Izzo gave Wojcik a few brief stints in important games in December and January just in case he was needed – and he was. Wojcik served as MSU’s backup point guard over the final two months and, while he struggled at times with the size, speed and length of Big Ten opponents, he began to acclimate to his limited role and keep the Spartans’ offense and defense steady while Fears got rest.
G Nick Sanders
The buzz: Sanders, the son of NFL great Barry Sanders, hit a pair of 3-pointers in his final season after walking on for the 2022-23 season. Behind the scenes, his presence running MSU’s scout team grew and helped push Fears and the guards. Izzo has said he would like to keep Sanders around as a graduate assistant, which would allow the Spartans to retain some valuable game preparation continuity.
Returning
PG Jeremy Fears Jr.
The buzz: Less than two years after being shot in the upper left leg, Fears showed every reason why Izzo has long compared him to Mateen Cleaves during a first-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-American season. The third-year sophomore will finish the season as the national leader in assists per game at 9.4, the best average in MSU history and finishing with 328 to break Cassius Winston’s school single-season record. Fears also showed the will to take over games with his scoring, with nine games of at least 21 points, thanks to his ability to get to the free-throw line in abundance – he went a combined 40-for-44 in scoring 31, 29 and 26 points in a comeback loss against Michigan and overtime wins against Rutgers and Illinois, respectively. Though he struggled with outside shooting early, Fears hit a 3-pointer in each of MSU’s final 11 games and went 17-for-38 (44.7%) in that span, a sign of bigger things to come next season. Continuing to develop that, along with learning how to not let his competitive side get him in troublesome spots, will be the biggest offseason areas of growth as a returning captain.
F Coen Carr
The buzz: If Cooper is the hallmark of MSU player development, the sky could be the limit if Carr bolsters his game in a similar fashion between his junior and senior seasons. For two years, Carr was known one of the best dunkers in college basketball; he might have overtaken the rest of the world with some of the highlight-reel jams he delivered this season. Go beneath that sheen, and the grittiness and improvement of Carr’s defense – both on and off the ball – might have been his most impressive elevation. The elite athleticism he showed in dunking is beginning to translate to jaw-dropping blocked shots with his instincts as a help-side defender, enough so that opponents are hesitating in anticipation of him flying in to swat them. Ball-handling and outside shooting, both of which saw an uptick but remain problematic at times, remain his primary areas of development to potentially give the Spartans two All-Americans for the first time since Cleaves and Morris Peterson in 2000.
SG Kur Teng
The buzz: Teng’s sharpshooting always has been his calling card, and his form and ability to rise above defenders are about as pure as any MSU guard since Shawn Respert. He hit 41.3% from deep over the Spartans’ final 13 games as his confidence rebounded after losing an early season starting job and seeing his minutes dwindle. Much of the reason for that was the same as Fort: defense. As most young guards in Izzo’s system do, though, Teng began to become less of a defensive liability down the stretch on that side of the ball and flashed some scrappiness in going for loose balls and rebounds. Improving his strength and willingness to mix it up inside are imperative this summer, as is spending the offseason improving his ball-handling that also proved problematic against defenders both with length and quickness advantages on him.
F Jesse McCullough
The buzz: After taking a redshirt last season, McCulloch showed in brief glimpses his ability to stretch defenses with his outside shooting ability, with a better looking shot from distance than perhaps any Izzo big man since Adreian Payne. But much like Payne early in his career, the clear need for additional mass to bang with the big bodies of the Big Ten is evident for McCulloch. He had just 13 rebounds in 105 minutes over his 16 appearances in conference play, demonstrating the need for increased strength to establish position on the block. Two things McCulloch does possess in abundance are energy and eagerness, making this a significant offseason toward a much larger role in the fall with the major losses of Kohler and Cooper freeing up almost all of the minutes inside.
SG Jordan Scott
The buzz: Scott arrived hoping to crack the rotation with the losses on the perimeter from last season’s Elite Eight team. When Kaleb Glenn was lost for the season in June, it opened a path toward immediate playing time. By February, Scott emerged as a starter at shooting guard with the struggles of Fort, Teng and Divine Ugochukwu, and the rookie added a long-armed defensive presence on the perimeter that Izzo has longed for over the past few seasons. Scott averaged 7.7 points and 2.8 rebounds over his 26.7 minutes in starting the final 13 games, hitting 41.7% of his 42 3-point attempts and adding 10 steals and 10 blocks. But the freshman wall hit with that increase in minutes, and Scott’s offense virtually disappeared over the final seven games, though his defense and rebounding remained intact. The usual need for an offseason of added weight and strength is visible, along with improving his ball-handling and willingness to look more for his shot.
F Cam Ward
The buzz: A wrist injury suffered in a Thanksgiving win over North Carolina hampered Ward after a fantastic start in which he averaged nine points and 5.1 rebounds (17 of 19 coming on the offensive glass) in his first seven games, including 18 points and 10 rebounds against Arkansas and 11 points against the Tar Heels. Ward was never the same as he played through the injury, going without a double-digit scoring game in 26 of his final 27 games, with 13 points against North Dakota State in the NCAA Tournament opener a sign that a healthy summer of offseason work should give him a shot at a starting job next season with his Big Ten-ready strength and high-energy work ethic.
F Brennan Walton
F Colin Walton
Injured
G/F Kaleb Glenn
The buzz: It’s hard to say exactly what having Glenn might have done for the Spartans this winter. But the knee injury he suffered in June, days after arriving on campus and a little more than two months after committing to play for MSU, altered Izzo’s blueprint long before the season even began. Glenn sat out all year, though he returned to the court in January and provided the Spartans with a high-level scout team presence over the final two months as his jumping and cutting ability returned. The length he presents defensively and the shooting he provides on offense wing are his calling cards on the wing, and it will almost be like Izzo adding a player from the portal with a year of knowledge about the demands and intricacies of the program. Glenn’s return also will allow Carr to play more at the small forward spot where he has thrived and give Izzo more lineup flexibility for varied matchups.
G Divine Ugochukwu
The buzz: When Holloman, Richardson and Akins left, Izzo went from having four guards who could run his offense to just Fears. Ugochukwu arrived after one year at Miami (Florida) and took some time to adjust as Fears’ backup before Izzo used him as the starting shooting in December. That unlocked a lineup in which Izzo could rotate out Fears and shift Ugochukwu to the point and bring Scott, Teng or Fort off the bench next to him. His return to a reserve role lasted not even a half, as Ugochukwu suffered a foot injury during Scott’s first start at Minnesota, leaving MSU with only Fears and Wojcik as capable ball-handlers. Izzo lamented the loss of Ugochukwu over the final month-plus, as his classic combo guard traits were starting to get maximized, and he neared a return to playing before the Spartans’ season ended in the Sweet 16. A healthy second offseason in MSU’s program, with building added strength and muscle along with working on Izzo’s defensive principles, should allow Ugochukwu to return to a pivotal and versatile role come fall despite the arrival of a talented recruiting class.
Team averages
Arriving
C Ethan Taylor
SG Jasiah Jervis
PG Carlos “CJ” Medlock Jr.
F Julius Avent
The buzz: Izzo will welcome the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class for 2026 according to 247Sports.com’s composite rankings, with all four arriving as top-100, four-star prospects. Taylor is the highest-rated of the group (No. 28 in his class) but also needs the most polishing and strength to be able to contribute at an elite level against Big Ten bigs. His passing ability out of the post and his shot-blocking are his best abilities as he develops.
Jervis (No. 33), a McDonald’s All-American, should be the most ready to contribute based on talent and needs, with the New York Gatorade Player of the Year possessing the potent offensive capability MSU lacked this season from its shooting guards and the size and quickness to adjust to the speed of the college game on the perimeter.
While undersized, Medlock has teamed at Link Academy with Taylor to play elite competition – both in practice and games – after spending his first three years at Wayne Memorial and emerging as one of the top players in the state. His scoring ability, ball-handling and quickness – along with outstanding leadership capabilities – could allow him to become a perfect foil to Fears and accelerate MSU’s transition offense to new levels.
And in Avent, Izzo brings in another lengthy wing whose path to early playing time will be his versatility to guard multiple positions in a frontcourt in need of replacing Cooper’s defense.
Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan State basketball: Looking at Tom Izzo’s likely 2026-27 roster
Reporting by Chris Solari, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
