Michigan State has only two exhibition games on the books, but those 80 minutes or so have already shifted the conversation around a few key pieces of Tom Izzo’s roster.
The Spartans, ranked sixth, have one more tune-up left before the games start counting for real: a road trip to Marquette on Sunday. Before that, MSU handled Incarnate Word 89-59 on Oct. 2 and then fell 78-70 to UConn on Tuesday, both at Breslin Center. And through those two outings, a handful of players have clearly helped or hurt their standing.
One of the biggest winners so far has been third-year forward Jesse McCulloch. He’s been one of Michigan State’s most reliable players in both exhibitions, starting with a 20-point showing against UIW - the highest-scoring game of his career at any level of real competition, since he’s never scored more than nine in a real game before. He added five rebounds in that one and got the start because Cam Ward was sidelined with a minor ankle injury.
McCulloch followed that up with another solid outing against UConn, finishing with eight points and five rebounds. He also posted a team-best +7 in 16 minutes.
Coming into the preseason, it looked like McCulloch might have to fight hard for time with all the options at the four and with Anton Bonke and Ethan Taylor entering the mix at center. Instead, he’s made a strong case that he’ll open the season as one of the first guys off the bench.
Jasiah Jervis has also boosted his standing. The true freshman two-guard has scored in double figures in both exhibitions and already looks like one of the Spartans’ more dangerous scorers. Against UConn, Michigan State made just three shots from 3-point range, and Jervis accounted for two of them.
His minutes have been just as eye-catching as his shot-making. Jervis was one of only five Spartans to play at least 20 minutes against Connecticut, joining Jeremy Fears Jr.
(31), Coen Carr (29), Jordan Scott (29), and Cam Ward (24). It’s still the preseason, but that kind of run for a true freshman says plenty about the trust he’s earning with Izzo.
Freshman center Ethan Taylor has also turned heads early. He came in as a highly regarded recruit, though his senior year of high school tailed off enough that it seemed possible he might need a year before taking on major minutes. Instead, he’s already making his presence felt.
Taylor’s size and athleticism at 7-foot-1 appear to help the defense when he’s on the floor. The offensive fit is still a work in progress because of the spacing questions, but he’s a good enough passer to keep things from bogging down.
Anton Bonke, though, has had a tougher start. Michigan State’s only transfer addition this offseason entered the year looking like the obvious answer at center, and he still has the tools that made him intriguing in the first place. At 7-foot-2, with the ability to stretch the floor and a background that only goes back about a half-decade, there’s still plenty of upside there.
But it hasn’t come together yet. Bonke played only six minutes against UConn and sat out the entire second half. He still appears to have the starting job for now, but Taylor and McCulloch have made the situation far less settled than many expected.
Kaleb Glenn is another player who may need more time. Through two exhibitions, he’s scored only two points, both from the free-throw line. Against UConn, he didn’t even take a shot in 10 minutes.
There is context there, though. Glenn is still working his way back into live action after last offseason’s knee injury. He said he could have, physically, played during Michigan State’s March Madness run, but the mental side of returning from a major injury is still part of the process.
Freshman point guard Carlos Medlock Jr. is also still getting used to the college game. Across the two exhibitions, he’s gone 3-for-14 from the field and 0-for-7 from 3-point range, with four assists and four turnovers.
Michigan State needs Medlock to give Fears a different look off the bench, a change-of-pace option who can alter how defenses guard the Spartans. The shot hasn’t arrived yet, but that kind of thing can take time, and the extra live reps should help him settle in.
In Other News...
Tom Izzo Sent A Clear Message To MSU Fans In Loss
Tom Izzo spent part of Michigan States exhibition loss doing something that rarely comes with a scoreboard: trying to calm the building down. During UConns visit to the Breslin Center on Oct. 20, the crowd turned hostile toward Huskies coach Dan Hurley, and Izzo made it clear he wanted the chants to stop while the two sides played a game that carried real early-season buzz despite being an exhibition. No. 5 UConn left East Lansing with a 78-70 win over No. 6 Michigan State, but the night also carried the kind of edge that comes with two highly ranked programs meeting in front of a fired-up crowd.
Afterward, both coaches kept the focus on respect. Izzo and Hurley each praised the others team and coaching, which fit the tone of a matchup that had plenty of intensity without crossing the line into a full-blown showdown. For Michigan State, the result mattered less than the reminder that the Spartans are already in the kind of high-profile games where the environment can tilt fast, and Izzo seemed intent on making sure the message from the home side was about basketball, not the crowd. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan State Heads To UCLA With A Sudden QB Problem
Michigan State is heading into its trip to UCLA with its quarterback picture suddenly in flux, and that is not the kind of issue a team wants to be sorting out on the road. Starter Alessio Milivojevic is listed as questionable because of an unspecified injury, while backup Cam Fancher is already out, leaving the Spartans to consider other options behind center as the week moves on.
If Milivojevic cannot go, Michigan State may have to turn to true freshman Kayd Coffman or second-year quarterback Leo Hannan. Coffman arrives with only limited game experience but came in as a highly rated recruit in the 2026 class, which at least gives the Spartans some long-term upside even as they try to piece together the short-term answer for a crucial Big Ten matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Jeremy Fears Jr Just Gave Michigan State Fans Real Reason To Dream
The Associated Press preseason All-America team gave Michigan State another jolt of national attention, and it came with Jeremy Fears Jr. at the center of it. The Spartans guard was named preseason Player of the Year for 2026-27 and came close to being a unanimous All-American, a sign of how quickly his stock has risen entering the new season. It is the kind of recognition that carries beyond Lansing, especially for a program that always measures itself against the national picture.
The AP list was built around five returning players from last season, with Thomas Haugh, Tyler Tanner, David Mirkovic and Motiejus Krivas joining Fears on the team. For Michigan State, the bigger takeaway is what Fears placement says about the ceiling of this roster and the attention that comes with it. Preseason honors do not decide anything, but they do sharpen expectations, and this one gives Spartan fans plenty of reason to believe the conversation around their team could be bigger than usual. [Read more 🡒]