Michigan State is already thinking beyond the immediate future, and the biggest reason is sitting right in the middle of the floor.
Jeremy Fears Jr. nearly made the jump to the NBA this offseason, pulling his name out of the draft just about 90 minutes before the early-entry deadline. He still has two years of eligibility left, but the Spartans are clearly bracing for the possibility that the 2026-27 season is his final run in East Lansing.
That’s why Tom Izzo and his staff are beginning to work the 2027 board now. Michigan State has already extended an offer to 4-star center Jaydn Jenkins, and the latest addition to the list is four-star guard Joshua Tyson.
Tyson, who plays at Lakota West in West Chester, Ohio, is ranked No. 65 overall in the 247Sports Composite. He also took an unofficial visit to East Lansing on Monday, and Michigan State joins a group that already includes Ohio State, Xavier, Virginia Tech and Cincinnati, all of whom are scheduled to host official visits.
The Spartans’ interest is notable because Tyson may be the first real point guard target on the board as a potential successor to Fears. 247Sports lists him as a combo guard, while On3 has him at point guard.
He’s measured at 6-foot-2 and 170 pounds. Michigan State has also offered East Lansing native Kingston Thomas, but he’s a shooting guard.
Tyson’s production last season at Lakota West was strong across the board. He averaged 16.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.0 steals per game, while shooting 62.9% from the field, 34.4% from three and 64.5% at the line.
He wouldn’t be a clean one-to-one swap for Fears, and nobody should expect that. Tyson and Fears bring different styles. Still, Tyson has real value as a distributor, and he can attack as a slasher from the point guard spot.
The bigger picture for Michigan State is a little tricky because of the NCAA’s new “5-in-5” rule, which gives every scholarship player on the roster the chance to return for another year. That specifically added another season for rising seniors Coen Carr and Anton Bonke. But even with that added flexibility, keeping an entire roster together is rarely realistic now.
Fears could be the obvious departure point. Beyond him, there’s also a chance that someone else - Jasiah Jervis, Carr, Bonke or Jordan Scott - develops into an NBA-level prospect. And as always, the transfer portal makes roster planning even less predictable.
So while Izzo and his staff do have some wiggle room, they don’t have any truly locked-in openings because nobody is running out of eligibility. That’s a nice problem to have for a team expected to be a top-10 group this season, but it does make the 2027 recruiting puzzle more complicated.
Fears’ decision to return this spring made plenty of sense. If he had stayed in the draft, he was probably looking at a mid- or late-second-round projection.
The real goal is to push into first-round territory, and this year’s draft class - considered stronger than average - probably wasn’t the right setting for that leap. Coming back gives him a chance to improve his stock and, in turn, position himself for a much bigger payday than he’d likely get in the G League or as a fringe NBA reserve.
The biggest box he still has to check is the three-point shot. He hit 32.1% from deep last season, and for a point guard around 6-foot-0 or 6-foot-1, that number just doesn’t cut it in today’s NBA.
Still, there are reasons to believe that number rises this season. His free-throw percentage - 88.5% - and his work in the mid-range both point in that direction. He was deadly from the stripe and looked automatic on jumpers inside the arc at times, which usually suggests the three-ball isn’t far behind.
And even if the shot lags a bit, Fears still brings the traits NBA teams love: leadership, pace, and the ability to run a team. He’s a winner, plain and simple. His career record sits at 63-20 (.759) with a Big Ten title, and last season he averaged 9.4 assists per game.
In Other News...
Michigan State Just Unveiled A New NIL Era Power Move
Michigan State is making a notable off-field push with Spartan Ventures, a new private organization created apart from the university to help expand resources for the athletic department. The setup is built around two arms, a nonprofit called Spartan Athletic Fund and a for-profit wing, Spartan Media Ventures, giving the Spartans a broader way to channel support into athletics at a time when programs are chasing every possible edge.
The early backing is significant, with the operation getting off the ground through money tied to Greg and Dawn Williams, and the structure also keeps donations outside the public eye while still putting them to athletic use. The part that will matter most to fans is what comes next: the for-profit side is designed to open new revenue streams, including NIL media endorsement opportunities for athletes, as Michigan State looks for a more modern way to compete in the marketplace. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State May Finally Have An Answer Up Front
Michigan States offensive line picture is starting to come into focus, and the biggest reason for optimism is the kind of veteran turnover the staff has been chasing all offseason. Three incoming transfers are expected to start up front, giving the Spartans a much different look as they try to steady a unit that needed help at the guard spots a year ago. Among the newcomers, sixth-year senior Nick Sharpe stands out as a plug-and-play addition with the experience and familiarity the coaches wanted.
Sharpe arrives after stops at Wake Forest and South Carolina, and his past overlap with offensive line coach Nick Tabacca gives Michigan State a built-in layer of trust. He is expected to settle in at left guard, where the Spartans are looking to replace Gavin Broscious after his move to Iowa State. If Sharpe can provide the kind of stability this group lacked, it would go a long way toward making the rest of the line work around him. [Read more 🡒]
Jasiah Jervis Is Already Pressuring Izzos Guard Rotation
Jasiah Jervis arrived in East Lansing with the kind of reputation that makes people look twice, and the early returns have only sharpened the curiosity around Michigan State's backcourt. The Spartans' top freshman recruit, ranked 31st overall in the class of 2026 and the highest-rated guard in the current class, has been putting that billing to work in the Moneyball Pro-Am, where he has quickly looked like a player who belongs in the conversation for real minutes.
That matters because Michigan State already has Jeremy Fears Jr. established in the backcourt, and Jervis is expected to compete for a significant role alongside him at the two-guard spot. For Tom Izzo, the question is less about whether Jervis can score and more about how soon that skill set forces its way into the rotation, especially if his summer form continues to translate against live competition. [Read more 🡒]