The name Tre Holloman is still banned in certain places around East Lansing. That’s a name that hasn’t quite sat well with Michigan State fans ever since he entered the transfer portal before his senior season to play for Will Wade over Tom Izzo.
That decision went as well as you’d imagine. Holloman’s lone season at NC State wasn’t what he was promised as his minutes remained about the same as his junior season at Michigan State and his production also plateaued.
To make matters worse, he likely would have been a Michigan State legend had he returned for his senior year and the Spartans probably would have been a legitimate national title contender.
NC State wasn’t bounced immediately in the NCAA Tournament and Holloman’s career came to an end earlier than he expected and he wasn’t getting any minutes in the NBA Summer League with the Magic so he decided to reevaluate his options. When the Colorado judge ruled that seniors could return for a fifth year in accordance with the new NCAA rule, Holloman immediately entered his name into the transfer portal.
All had been quiet on the Holloman front… until this week. Jon Rothstein shared the four teams that have reached out to the former Spartan guard. And they’re rather underwhelming.
NC State transfer Tre Holloman tells me that he’s receiving interest from the following programs.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) August 19, 2026
Utah State
Cincinnati
St. John’s
Providence
Holloman is pursuing a fifth year of eligibility.
Utah State, Cincinnati, and Providence are all likely borderline tournament teams this upcoming season while St. John’s could legitimately give him a chance at improving that draft stock. Rick Pitino could utilize him as a weapon off the bench to bolster the backcourt of a national title contender.
Utah State, Cincinnati, and Providence would all be steps down from NC State. It’s also interesting to note that LSU is in desperate need of scholarship players and Wade hasn’t reached out to his former guard. If that doesn’t tell you how weird of a relationship those two had, what will?
The Tre Holloman “what if?” still hurts
Who else still isn’t over the fact that Holloman threw away a chance at being a back-to-back Big Ten champion, national champion, and Spartan legend by opting to transfer to Wade and NC State?
It still hurts.
Michigan State had a Holloman-sized hole in the backcourt and while Divine Ugochukwu was probably better than most people expected, he still wasn’t the offensive threat that the 2025 Big Ten champ was on a regular basis. He also didn’t quite have the defensive chops that Holloman did in the green and white. Having Holloman as the PG2 option and the starting two-guard would have raised the ceiling of the 2025-26 team.
If he did stick around, he would have been remembered for helping lead Michigan State to back-to-back Big Ten titles and the Spartans don’t get swept by Michigan or lose to UConn in the Sweet 16 if he was playing spot point guard duties instead of Denham Wojcik.
Also, if he could have remained in Izzo’s good graces by seeing his four years through, he could have been a fifth-year option for the Spartans this summer.
No one likes the “what if?” game anyway.
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