Tom Izzo has been busy welcoming the 2026 class to campus this week as Jasiah Jervis and Ethan Taylor finally made their way up from Mexico after representing Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup, joining Carlos Medlock and Julius Avent in East Lansing.
The transfer portal newcomer, Anton Bonke, even got a warm welcome from the Michigan State staff.
Vibes are high around East Lansing and the elite 2026 class is a big reason for that. If Izzo wants those vibes to stay high, he needs to contend for a national title this year (preferably at least a Final Four) before landing another top-10 recruiting class in 2027.
He needs to get started on that 2027 class if he plans on landing a second straight group ranked in the top 10. Point guard seems to be the current top priority for Izzo which makes sense considering he’s likely losing Jeremy Fears after the 2026-27 season, leaving only Medlock at point guard on the roster.
Jaxson Davis, one of the top point guards in the 2027 class, has become one of the top targets for Izzo and his staff as they evaluate the upcoming cycle.
And this past week, Davis made a move that could affect Michigan State’s recruitment of him.
While it’s been known for a week in the basketball world, Warren star Jaxson Davis, the Sun-Times Player of the Year and state’s top prospect, makes it official. Davis is leaving Warren and heading to a newly-formed prep school, Monarch Academy in Kansas City.
— Joe Henricksen (@joehoopsreport) June 12, 2026
The Warren, Ill., four-star point guard is reportedly transferring for his senior season to Kansas City to play at a newly-formed prep school. Moves to prep schools have not always worked out for Izzo, but he did just land Medlock who transferred from Farmington to Link Academy in Missouri.
Let’s hope this is a similar situation where it won’t affect Michigan State’s chances. He’s already receiving interest from big-time programs like Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, and Purdue, so Izzo knows what he’s up against. It just makes things a little more difficult with visits now that he’s moving just across the Missouri border to Kansas City, Kan. (different from Kansas City, Mo., obviously but right next to it).
Tom Izzo has had mixed success with prep academies
There have been several big-time prep schools like La Lumiere, IMG Academy, and Link Academy, to name a few, that Izzo has recruited from.
Most of the time, Izzo has been in on recruits before they transfer to prep academies such as Brian Bowen, Jeremy Fears, Ethan Taylor, Carlos Medlock, Rocket Watts, Jaden Akins, and Emoni Bates. There has obviously been mixed success for Izzo but if he targets a guy and that recruit transfers to a prep school, the Hall of Famer doesn’t usually take his foot off the gas — Medlock and Taylor are prime examples.
Davis, the No. 42 prospect in the 2027 class, isn’t moving across the country, just a couple extra states away. If Izzo really wants the No. 11 point guard in the nation, he’s going to pursue him.
Other big-time programs may soon get involved now that he’s putting himself on a bigger stage, however. That’s the only real wrench thrown into this recruitment.
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