Jeremy Fears Jr. keeps collecting preseason shine, and the spotlight around Michigan State’s guard is only getting hotter.
The latest honor came with Fears being named the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, a label that puts him at the top of a conference loaded with 18 teams and hundreds of players. Before the season even got going, the Spartans’ floor general was the one who got the nod.
That kind of recognition comes with a heavy load, but Fears has already shown why the buzz keeps building. Last season, he didn’t just lead Michigan State in scoring - he also led the Spartans in assists, controlling the offense with the kind of command that turned heads around college basketball.
His passing numbers were historic for the program. Fears set Michigan State’s single-season assists record with 328 last year, finishing just 17 behind Purdue’s Braden Smith, who established the NCAA single-season record.
And the new season is already off to a familiar start. In Michigan State’s 89-59 win over Incarnate Word on Friday, Fears finished with a game-high 13 assists. The numbers may not carry much weight in the big picture of that result, but they underscored just how natural he looked orchestrating things again.
That’s the challenge for opposing defenses now: how do you slow down a player who can punish you as both a scorer and a distributor? Put too much attention on Fears, and Michigan State’s roster can make teams pay elsewhere.
The expectations around East Lansing are massive, and they’re not coming out of nowhere. Michigan State hasn’t entered a season with this much hype since the run after finishing the 2017-18 season as a No. 3 seed.
That next year brought Final Four expectations - and ended with a first-round loss to No. 15 Middle Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament.
This time, the pressure is different, and in some ways even bigger. Michigan State hasn’t reached a Final Four since 2019, and the setting only adds to the intrigue: the Final Four is headed to Detroit this year, making the possibility feel especially vivid for the Spartans.
Fears’ profile stretches well beyond the Big Ten, too. He’s already sitting at the top of the Wooden Award betting market, a sign that the national expectation is simple - he isn’t just supposed to be one of the league’s best players, he’s supposed to be one of the best in the country.
He also had a chance to enter the NBA Draft this season, but chose to return. That decision puts him right back at the center of everything Michigan State wants to do.
For Fears, the awards are nice. The winning is what matters.
He’s also coming into this season with the memory of last year’s scrutiny still fresh. After a few errant kickouts sparked controversy and drew questions from the national media about whether he was playing dirty, Fears answered the noise the only way that really counts: by keeping his production high and showing that wasn’t who he was.
Now the load gets even heavier. The hype is already in place, the pressure is real, and Michigan State is staring at a season built on enormous expectations.
In Other News...
Michigan State Volleyball Is Getting National Attention For A Big Reason
Michigan State volleyball is back in the national conversation, and Malayah Long is a big reason why. The redshirt sophomore setter was named Big Ten Setter of the Week for the first time after helping power a 2-0 conference weekend, capped by a career-best 65 assists against USC.
The recognition comes at a time when the Spartans are starting to draw wider attention again, with Michigan State checking in at No. 22 in the AVCA Coaches Poll for its first national ranking since 2018. For a program looking to reestablish itself among the Big Tens top groups, Longs rise gives the Spartans another sign that this start may be worth watching closely. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Is Getting The Kind Of Preseason Respect Fans Crave
The preseason buzz around Michigan State is starting to sound like the kind of respect Spartan fans have been waiting to hear. In a poll of 28 media members conducted by The Columbus Dispatch, Tom Izzos team was picked to finish second in the Big Ten for the 2026-27 college basketball season, a sign that the league expects the Spartans to be right in the mix again after bringing back key pieces and adding to the roster.
Jeremy Fears Jr. was also a major presence in the voting, earning Preseason Player of the Year honors and standing alone as the only unanimous First Team All-Big Ten selection. With Coen Carr back and Anton Bonke arriving from the transfer portal, Michigan State has the kind of returning talent and fresh help that can fuel a serious run, even if the real test will come once the games start and the conference race begins to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Already Looks Like A Real Big Ten Problem For MSU
Michigans backcourt is already looking like one of the early storylines in the Big Ten, and that matters plenty for Michigan State. Elliot Cadeau, a senior point guard and Final Four Most Outstanding Player, and Trey McKenney, a sophomore coming off All-Freshman Team honors, were both picked for the 2026-27 Preseason All-Big Ten Team, giving the Wolverines a pair of recognized pieces before the league even tips off.
For Michigan, the nods add to a program history that now includes 26 players earning preseason All-Big Ten recognition, and it is one of only three conference teams with multiple selections this time around. For the Spartans, it is another reminder that the race at the top of the league is shaping up to be crowded, with Michigan already carrying the kind of preseason credibility that can make head-to-head meetings feel even bigger. [Read more 🡒]