One national analyst has Michigan State near the top of his updated preseason rankings following Jeremy Fears Jr.’s notable NBA Draft decision.
With Fears officially coming back for another season with the Spartans, Gary Parrish of CBS Sports has Michigan State just outside his top five nationally. Parrish released new rankings earlier this week, with the Spartans coming at No. 6 in the country.
Michigan State was behind only the following teams in Parrish’s updated rankings: Florida (No. 1), Duke (No. 2), Michigan (No. 3), Illinois (No. 4) and UConn (No. 5). Here’s what Parrish had to say about the Spartans:
“This ranking is based on the Spartans returning five of the top eight scorers — specifically Jeremy Fears Jr., Coen Carr, Kur Teng, Jordan Scott and Cam Ward — from a team that finished 27-8 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. That core will be joined by a recruiting class highlighted by Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke and four-star prospects Ethan Taylor, Carlos Medlock Jr., Julius Avent and Jasiah Jervis.”
With a preseason All-American point guard like Fears back in the fold, it comes as no surprise to see the Spartans ranked this high in a preseason poll. My guess is that this will be right about where we see the Spartans in other similar polls, with them most certainly a lock to enter next year as a preseason top 10 team.
Click on the post below to read more from Parrish and see his complete Top 25 And 1 rankings:
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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: MSU basketball listed in top 10 of new CBS Sports preseason rankings
Reporting by Robert Bondy, Spartans Wire / Spartans Wire
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