Tom Izzo has assembled a Michigan State roster that looks loaded from top to bottom, and the preseason Wooden Award chatter is already reflecting that. DraftKings has posted early odds for the 2026-27 award, and three Spartans landed among the top 100 names on the board: Jeremy Fears Jr. at +850, Coen Carr at +6000 and Jasiah Jervis at +13000.
Fears is the biggest headline of the group. He sits as the current favorite in the field and is one of just two Spartans inside the top 32 nationally in the early odds. No Michigan State player has ever won the award for the nation’s top player, but Fears has a real chance to change that this season.
Carr and Jervis give the Spartans even more presence on the list. Jervis showing up near the bottom of the top 100 qualifies as a pleasant surprise, while Carr’s inclusion only adds to the sense that this team has serious star power.
That’s been the theme around East Lansing all offseason. Michigan State is coming off a 27-8 season that ended fourth in the Big Ten and left the Spartans just a couple bounces away from a second straight Elite Eight. Now the group is back with most of its core intact, and the roster looks even deeper.
Fears was the final major piece to lock in, and Spartan fans had to wait until the final day to learn he was withdrawing from the NBA draft and returning. He’s back alongside Carr, Jordan Scott, Kaleb Glenn, Jesse McCulloch, Cam Ward and Kur Teng. Glenn missed 2025-26 with an injury, but he returns to a team that also adds a top-five recruiting class and 7-foot-2 transfer center Anton Bonke.
The departures were limited to Divine Ugochukwu, Trey Fort, Carson Cooper and Jaxon Kohler, and the overall sense is that Michigan State may actually be better this time around.
The ingredients are obvious: an All-American point guard compared to Mateen Cleaves, a high-flying forward working on his jumper, a promising sophomore duo ready to pop, two 7-foot-2 centers, a returning transfer expected to be a scoring option, and a top-five incoming class. For Izzo, it’s the kind of balance that can make a team dangerous.
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Former Spartan Thomas Kithier Lands Intriguing New Coaching Opportunity
Thomas Kithier is keeping his basketball career moving in a new direction, landing on the Utah State coaching staff after a playing career that made him a familiar name to Michigan State fans. The former Spartan, who was known for his rebounding and drew mixed reactions during his time in East Lansing, had already begun working in coaching and now gets another step up on that path.
Kithier previously coached under Dwayne Stephens at Western Michigan, where he continued to lean on the same traits that defined him as a player. His move into the Aggies' program adds another chapter to a career that shifted earlier than expected, after a back injury forced him out of playing and into the next phase of the game. [Read more 🡒]
Michigans Bryce Underwood Rumor Has Spartans Rolling Their Eyes
The latest round of Michigan quarterback chatter is making the rounds on Utah message boards, and it has already prompted plenty of eye-rolling across the border in East Lansing. The claim centers on Bryce Underwood and a possible shift in the Wolverines long-term thinking, but the whole thing is floating on anonymous sourcing and the kind of internet fuel that tends to burn hot for a day before fading.
For Spartans fans, the appeal is obvious: any uncertainty in Ann Arbor is worth monitoring, especially when Michigan is still sorting through its quarterback picture. The Wolverines are also looking at other options, including freshman Tommy Carr and transfer Colin Hurley, which only adds to the noise around the position even if nothing in the rumor mill has been confirmed. [Read more 🡒]
Jaxon Kohler Just Put Serious Heat On His NBA Roster Chase
Jaxon Kohler has already started making the most of his post-draft path, turning heads in the Utah-based Powder League Pro-Am with a big all-around outing. The former Michigan State big man put up 32 points, 21 rebounds and five assists, a reminder that his inside presence and activity around the basket can still travel well even after going undrafted in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Kohlers next stop matters because every summer possession is part of the same larger push to stay in the NBA conversation, and hes trying to turn that momentum into a longer look. Michigan State fans have seen another rookie big move quickly too, with Carson Cooper landing a two-way contract with the Memphis Grizzlies soon after the draft, so the Spartans frontcourt pipeline is already drawing some pro attention. [Read more 🡒]