Tom Izzo has kept the 2027 board busy, and Michigan State’s latest move adds another major center to the mix.
On Tuesday, the Spartans offered 6-foot-10 center Kamsi Awaka, according to his official account. The offer came a few weeks after it was first reported that Michigan State was showing interest, and it gives Izzo another serious option in a recruitment that already had plenty of traction elsewhere.
Awaka, a 6-foot-10, 250-pound New Jersey native, has been on Izzo’s radar for a while. He now owns nearly a dozen offers, per his 247Sports profile, with Arizona, UConn and Florida among the most notable. Those three have looked like the front-runners for some time, but Michigan State’s offer changes the picture.
Awaka has not scheduled any official visits yet, but Michigan State should be in line for one now that the offer is official. The Spartans are also expected to keep pushing for Awaka or Jaydn Jenkins, as Izzo looks to land one of his top center targets for the class.
Awaka enters the picture as one of the top prospects in the 2027 cycle. He’s ranked No. 52 overall, No. 8 among centers, and he’s the highest-rated player in New Jersey.
Landing him won’t be easy. The Spartans are up against programs that have already built relationships with the four-star prospect, and the competition is real.
Still, Michigan State’s 2027 board is shaping up well. With Awaka’s offer, Izzo has now extended nine scholarships in the class, and only two of those have gone to centers. Awaka and Jenkins are the two names in that race.
The rest of the board has some serious firepower, too. Izzo has offers out to point guards Antonio Pemberton, Jaxson Davis and Aaron Britt Jr., along with combo guard Joshua Tyson. Michigan State has already made the cut for three of those players, and Izzo has made it clear he wants an elite point guard in this class.
What stands out about this group is how realistic it looks. In the past, Izzo has chased big names and come up short when the money didn’t line up, but this time the offers have mostly been aimed at players ranked between 30 and 60 nationally.
Outside of Jayon Connor and Kingston Thomas, Michigan State has only offered prospects in that range, and that gives the Spartans a real shot with every target on the board.
If you’re trying to sketch out the perfect three-man class, a case can be made for Pemberton, Asa Montgomery and either Jenkins or Awaka. That would be a strong haul for the Hall of Famer.
Stacking classes is how you win titles.
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