Would you believe it if I told you that the No. 1 returning college basketball player for the 2026-27 season resides in East Lansing? You should because it’s true — at least according to one prominent account.
Jeremy Fears Jr. made the difficult decision a week ago to return to Michigan State after flirting with the NBA draft. The decision was a tough one, but it was the right one.
With his return, Fears is going to be looked at as a preseason All-American as well as a legitimate national player of the year candidate. He’ll probably be the favorite to win Big Ten Player of the Year in 2026-27, but we’re thinking bigger picture. Fears returned to finish some business and show loyalty to the head coach that recruited him.
Now that he’s back, everyone is singing his praises as one of the best players in the country and we’re all looking forward to junior year Fears and what he can bring to the table.
Although he was projected as a mid-second-rounder, at best, Fears is garnering some major praise from some prominent college basketball outlets. One of them is College Basketball Report on Twitter which often creates rankings of players, teams, and covers various other college basketball-related topics. They posted their ranking of the top 60 returning players in the country for the 2026-27 season and Fears came in at No. 1.
The top 60 returning players in college basketball for the 2026-27 season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/sJtkopgFcO
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) June 4, 2026
I’ll say this is pretty accurate because Fears is arguably the best point guard in the country and he’s being coached by a Hall of Famer who compared him to the point guard who won him a national title back in 2000. The expectations for the nation’s assists leader are sky-high.
As they should be.
Jeremy Fears has a chance to cement himself as an MSU legend
Returning for his junior year was already a good start to this cementing of his legacy at Michigan State and he can further that by bringing home another Big Ten title (his second) as well as leading the Spartans to their first Final Four since 2019. He could really become a legend and have his number retired down the line if he can lead MSU to a national title.
Izzo has long been chasing No. 2 and Fears looks like the point guard who’s capable of leading the team that can achieve it. He has all the tools that national title-winning point guards all have: leadership, elite passing, defense, and scoring.
When Fears is running the offense, good things happen. The same goes for his defense.
There are so many achievable goals for the junior point guard this season, beginning with a Big Ten title and ending with a national title.
The No. 1 returning player in college basketball can get it done.
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