Michigan State junior forward Coen Carr has landed on the 2026 Julius Erving Award watch list, earning a spot among 20 Division I men’s basketball players recognized Wednesday afternoon by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
The award, which honors the top small forwards in Division I men’s college basketball, is in its 13th year. Carr is one of seven Big Ten players on the list.
Carr’s case last season was built on production and explosiveness. One of four team captains, he started all 35 games and finished third on the Spartans in scoring at 12.0 points per game, while also ranking third with 5.4 rebounds per contest.
He played 29.2 minutes a game, second-most on the team, and added 1.3 assists per game, which was fourth-best on the roster. He also finished second on the squad with 28 blocked shots.
From the floor, Carr shot 51.8 percent, going 155-of-299 overall, and knocked down a career-high 21 3-pointers. He scored in double figures 23 times, put up at least 20 points in three games, led the Spartans in scoring seven times and topped the team in rebounding five times.
In Big Ten play, he averaged 10.9 points and 5.4 rebounds. In the NCAA Tournament, those numbers jumped to 17.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
Carr’s athleticism also showed up in a big way: he ranked No. 10 nationally and second in the Big Ten with 67 dunks.
The award process moves in stages from here. Fan voting begins Friday, October 30, and the initial watch list will be trimmed to 10 players in February, then five in March.
Those finalists will go to Julius Erving and the Hall of Fame selection committees later in March, with the winner announced on a to-be-determined date along with the rest of the Men’s Starting Five. The other awards in that group are the Bob Cousy Award for point guard, the Jerry West Award for shooting guard, the Karl Malone Award for power forward and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award for center.
Michigan State opens its 2026-27 regular season on Monday, Nov. 2, against Quinnipiac at Breslin Center. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m., and the game will stream on B1G+.
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