Michigan State basketball’s 2026 class gets even better with addition of top-100 PF

Michigan State basketball fans were ready for some good news on Wednesday afternoon as four-star power forward Julius Avent was getting set to make his college decision.

The Spartans were looking like the favorites to land Avent, especially since he cancelled his final official visit to Seton Hall that was supposed to be this weekend, and the Pirates were one of his three finalists. Usually, you don’t see a recruit cancel a visit to one of his finalists and end up picking that school.

That would mean that his final two were Michigan State and Xavier, with Seton Hall finishing third, assuming the cancelled visit implied something.

Well, the Spartans finally got the good news on Wednesday as he announced his commitment to Tom Izzo and Michigan State just a week after the Hall of Fame head coach took a trip out east to pay him a visit at school.

Izzo has done a great job with the 2026 class so far, and it feels like he’s focused in on a smaller group of targets, but he’s making each feel like a priority. That’s how he landed Carlos Medlock Jr.

With the start of the class being Medlock Jr. and Avent, Izzo can now shift his focus to his top remaining priorities: Jasiah Jervis, Maximo Adams, Ethan Taylor, Tristan Reed, and Jalyn Collingwood. He could end up with a four-man class, or even five, that rivals any in the country.

Avent is ranked the No. 78 overall recruit and 13th-best power forward in the class, per 247Sports. He can score from around the hoop, in the mid-range, and he also has deep range. A 6-foot-7 athletic forward with some range who can space the floor but also isn’t afraid to dribble and create? Sounds kind of like Malik Hall’s game.

The four-star power forward is going to fit right in at Michigan State.