Tom Izzo is working on finishing his 2025 recruiting class with Darius Adams, but the legendary Michigan State basketball coach is never done recruiting.
While ending the 2025 class with a trio of Cam Ward, Jordan Scott, and Adams would be more than ideal, he's not content with just ending this cycle on a high note. No, he's ready to look ahead to the 2026 class and beyond, as hinted at by his recent focus on international prospects.
We haven't heard too many names mentioned as options in the 2026 class, but one has emerged thanks to a top 15 (not a typo) that he released on Friday.
Anthony Thompson, a five-star forward in 2026, just released his top 15 and the Spartans made the cut.
5⭐️ Anthony Thompson, On3’s No. 5 overall recruit in the 2026 class, is down to 15 schools, per his Instagram page.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 25, 2025
The 6-8 small forward received roughly 30 offers. https://t.co/dGbu00fPdt pic.twitter.com/lBKVkcdVsa
As you can see, there are a lot of teams on that list including Michigan, Kansas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Auburn, Indiana, Ohio State, and Purdue, among others. He has his pick of wherever he wants to go as a top-10 prospect in the 2026 class, but Izzo is hoping he can win this recruitment for the five-star small forward.
I'll admit, I'm not well-versed on the 2026 class yet so this is really the first name that I've heard in connection with Michigan State -- albeit I haven't really looked into it yet.
Thompson has plenty of size and length for the small forward position, standing 6-foot-8 and weighing 185 pounds and the Ohio native is ranked No. 9 in the 2026 recruiting class, per 247Sports. He has 33 offers so this top 15 cut his options a little more than in half.
This would be a great way to kick off the 2026 class but there's an uphill battle here.