Michigan State basketball in a battle with Michigan for elite 4-star PF

Mar 20, 2025; Cleveland, OH, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo watches his team during practice at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images
Mar 20, 2025; Cleveland, OH, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo watches his team during practice at Rocket Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-Imagn Images | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

Saturday felt like a big day for Michigan State basketball as the Spartans made a few 2026 targets' top schools lists.

First, it was five-star big man and No. 1 overall center in the 2026 class Ethan Taylor who revealed his top six and visit dates. Then four-star small forward Jalyn Collingwood who shared his top seven, and he, too, has a visit scheduled with Michigan State this fall.

Then, on Saturday evening, the Spartans made the cut for top-70 power forward Quinn Costello who also has Michigan on his list, making this one of the first Izzo vs. Dusty May battles.

Costello has both Michigan and Michigan State, as well as North Carolina, Purdue, Texas, and Minnesota. This is obviously a Big Ten-heavy final schools list so it's not going to be an easy for one for Izzo. The Spartans have the only scheduled visit on 247Sports with Costello right now, hosting him for Grind Week on Sept. 5.

Michigan State has a solid advantage with both Costello and Taylor. For Costello, he'll be visiting during Grind Week with current 2026 commit Carlos Medlock Jr., so he'll be able to meet some former Spartans and potentially bond with future ones. For Taylor, he'll be teammates with Medlock at Link Academy this season.

Izzo is going to have to rely heavily on Medlock to help him recruit the rest of the class. He has a solid base with the four-star point guard, but he just needs a center and a wing or two, and he'll have an ideal group. It all depends on how many spots he'll have open for the 2026 class.