Michigan State basketball facing uphill battle for 4-star SF Ty Rodgers

Michigan State’s 2022 recruiting class has taken a couple of big hits this year with Enoch Boakye decommitting and then committing to Arizona State and Emoni Bates also reopening his recruitment.

That leaves Michigan State with an empty class and about 4-5 spots, at least, to fill.

There are some big names on the board like Tarris Reed, Jalen Washington, Kijani Wright, Isaac Traudt, and Jaden Schutt who Michigan State seems to be in good standing with, but the Spartans got a visit from another top target who will require quite a bit of work.

Four-star Grand Blanc (Mich.) small forward Ty Rodgers was in East Lansing for an unofficial visit on Tuesday after Tom Izzo and the staff checked him out at a recent event. He was one of Izzo’s latest offers in the 2022 class which put him behind in the race early on.

Rodgers has been very high on Juwan Howard and Michigan and took a trip to UConn and Purdue recently as well. Right now, however, it looks like the Wolverines are the clear leaders.

There’s been plenty of talk about him being a Michigan “lock” but no recruit wants to be considered that and Michigan State clearly hasn’t given up on him yet. They’re hosting him with the hope of making up some ground as his recruitment heads into the final stages.

Pierre Brooks wanted Michigan State basketball to pursue Rodgers

Before Pierre Brooks was ever on campus, he spoke on a podcast about his desire for Michigan State to land Rodgers. The two are in-state kids and are familiar with each other, so it’s good that Rodgers got to see East Lansing with a familiar face on campus.

Will Michigan State continue to push for Rodgers despite the notion that he’s leaning toward Michigan? Most likely, but the Spartans have a lot of ground to make up and it might be too little, too late.

Rodgers is the No. 48 recruit in the 2022 class as well as the 11th-best small forward. He would pair nicely with Brooks, Max Christie, and Jaden Akins next year, but right now, that has to be considered a long shot.