The point-guard spot is loaded heading into the 2026-27 college basketball season, and the list starts with a player who already looks like a national award threat. Michigan State’s Fears comes in with Braden Smith’s all-time assists record in sight, and there’s a real case that it won’t last much longer.
A season ago, he led the nation with 9.4 assists per game, then took a major leap as a scorer in 2025-26 by averaging over 15 points a night, more than doubling his scoring average from the year before. If the three-point shot keeps coming, the rest of his game gets even tougher to deal with.
On a Michigan State team with a legitimate shot at a national title in Detroit this April, he should be in the thick of the national player of the year race.
Vanderbilt has its own high-end lead guard back in Tanner, and that return could change the feel of the entire season in Nashville. He helped the Commodores to their most wins in a season since 1993 last year, and passing on the NBA draft for at least one more run gives Vanderbilt real reason to aim higher in 2026-27.
He may be small, but his impact is anything but. Tanner controls pace, bothers opponents defensively and can score at all three levels.
Another veteran who could make a huge jump is UConn’s Demary. His March slowed a bit while he managed a nagging ankle injury, but that shouldn’t erase how well he played for much of Big East action, when he looked like one of the best point guards in the country.
With another year inside UConn’s complex offense, he could move quickly into All-American territory. The path is there already: Tristen Newton won the Bob Cousy Award in his second season in the system in 2024, when the Huskies captured their second national championship under Dan Hurley.
BYU’s Wright also chose the road back instead of the portal, and that decision gives the Cougars a proven offensive engine after he briefly tested the market this spring. He’ll no longer be in AJ Dybantsa’s shadow and will instead be the primary scoring threat for BYU.
Wright posted nearly 18 points per game in his first season in Provo and knocked down 41% from three, production that puts him in position to challenge for the Big 12 scoring lead. The next step is on the defensive end if he wants to help BYU stay near the top of the conference.
There may not be a more fascinating newcomer in the group than St. John’s Ellis.
His résumé is already unusual enough to turn heads: he was the starting point guard for Olimpia Milano in the EuroLeague last season, which is widely viewed as the best competition outside the NBA. Simply being a rotation player there would be notable; contributing the way he did says plenty about what he can bring to Rick Pitino’s team.
He may not have the kind of burst or shotmaking that screams All-American, but he looks like a very safe bet to be an all-conference player, likely in what will be his only college season.
Mississippi State also gets an elite returner back in Hubbard, and that matters after the Bulldogs slipped in 2025-26. In a crowded SEC, his presence gives them a real path back to the NCAA tournament.
He’s already scored just shy of 2,000 career points and is coming off a career-high 22.1 points per game last season, which puts him on track to become one of the most prolific scorers in SEC history. He also has the conference’s all-time three-point mark in reach.
Chris Lofton’s record sits at 431, while Hubbard is at 311; he could make a serious run at it this season and would almost certainly pass it if he returns for a fifth year in Starkville.
Marquette’s season was rocky, but James was one of the bright spots and one of the fastest-rising guards in the sport. In Big East play, he put up 19.0 points and 5.5 assists per game, including three 30-point outings and five games with at least eight assists. With another offseason of growth, he has a real chance to enter the Big East Player of the Year conversation and help Marquette rebound from last year’s disappointment.
Illinois brings in Vaaks, and the fit could be dangerous if the best version of him shows up. There were stretches at Providence when he looked like a first-round pick, and Brad Underwood now gets a chance to tap into that upside in a system built to maximize off-dribble shooting.
That same setup helped Keaton Wagler break out last season. Vaaks comes with obvious concerns - defense and shot selection chief among them - but the spacing and talent around him should help bring out his strengths.
Virginia’s Mallory is another guard poised for a bigger role after thriving as a sixth man last season. Now stepping into the starting job, he has a chance to take off.
He’s quick, slippery and dangerous with the ball, and he was one of the ACC’s best on-ball defenders as a freshman. The outside shot is still a work in progress - he hit just 29% from deep in ACC play - but there’s reason to believe he can become a much better shooter over time.
Arkansas rounds out the group with Smith, a guard who already looked electric in high school because of his athleticism, defensive edge and ability to get into the paint. The early signs in Fayetteville have been encouraging, especially during Arkansas’s dominant foreign tour in the Bahamas, where he put up some eye-opening stat lines. If the jumper keeps improving, he has real All-American upside, and he’ll have a major stage to show it as the featured guard in John Calipari’s PG-friendly offense.
In Other News...
Jeremy Fears Just Added Fuel To Michigan States Breakout Hype
Michigan States rising optimism around its young core got a little louder this week when Jeremy Fears Jr. took issue with a recent ranking of the top 30 sophomore players in college basketball. The list left out Cam Ward and Jordan Scott, two Spartans who are expected to play major roles this season and who have already built a case as potential All-Big Ten-caliber talents heading into their second year.
Ward and Scott each showed enough as freshmen to keep the Spartans breakout buzz from sounding like empty offseason talk, and their next step could shape how high this team climbs. Fears public criticism only added another layer to the conversation around Michigan States depth and upside, especially with so much attention now turning to what those two sophomores can become in East Lansing. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State May Be Getting A Huge Brady Pretzlaff Boost
Brady Pretzlaff has spent much of fall camp trying to remind Michigan State what made him such a highly regarded recruit in the first place. The former four-star linebacker was held back by injury last season and never got much of a chance to settle in, but defensive coordinator Joe Rossi has liked what he has seen since camp opened, describing Pretzlaff as well ahead of where he was after the setback.
That matters for a linebacker room still sorting out its pecking order. Jordan Hall remains a central piece, but the Spartans also have several transfers and younger players competing for roles, which makes any meaningful rise from Pretzlaff particularly important. If he can turn this progress into a reliable presence on the field, Michigan States defense could get a much-needed boost from a player who still has plenty of runway left. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Needs More From Derrick Simmons Than Hype This Year
Michigan State is counting on Derrick Simmons to be more than a former recruiting win this season, because the defensive tackle room has some real turnover and the Spartans need younger bodies to settle in fast. Simmons arrived with plenty of pedigree as a four-star prospect, but his first year was mostly about learning the jump from high school to Big Ten football and adjusting to the speed, strength and physical demands that come with it.
Now a sophomore, Simmons has already made the kind of body transformation the staff wanted to see, and the expectation is that hell finally be part of the weekly conversation up front. He is projected to fit into the tackle mix with Ben Roberts and Eli Coenen, and for Michigan State the question is no longer whether he belongs in the rotation, but how quickly he can turn promise into production. [Read more 🡒]