Michigan State basketball loses first key recruiting battle of the season

Michigan State basketball and Tom Izzo have had a very solid recruiting cycle even though they haven't earned a commitment yet. Izzo has gotten the Spartans in at least 10 top lists for some of the best recruits in the country, most of which are consensus five-stars or very close to.

With all the recruits that Michigan State is in on and finding success with it was inevitable for some to pick other schools, and that's exactly what happened on Monday.

Four-star forward Trent Sisley announced his commitment to Indiana on Monday, choosing the Hoosiers over MSU, Purdue, and Notre Dame.

Sisley wasn’t one of Michigan State’s highest priority targets, so this loss isn’t demoralizing, but Izzo did recruit him a good amount this recruiting cycle so this still gets chalked up as a key loss.

Sisley had a visit scheduled to East Lansing for Oct. 12, but that visit obviously won’t be happening anymore. I originally thought the timing of this visit was a good sign for MSU because it was scheduled to be Sisley’s final visit just days before his announcement date, but there’s always a risk that a recruit falls in love with what they see elsewhere and that’s what happened with Sisley.

So where does Michigan State turn to now? Thankfully for MSU they are in on about 10 other players with most of them being ranked higher than Sisley. The Spartans could get some good news Wednesday as five-star forward Jalen Haralson will be announcing his commitment. Haralson is deciding between the Spartans, Indiana Hoosiers, and Notre Dame and there is no clear cut favorite in his recruitment, so any of these schools could win this battle.

But even if Haralson spurns Michigan State as well, Izzo still has the recruiting class in a good spot so it wouldn’t be time to panic just yet. Let’s hope however that MSU does get some good news on Wednesday so they can get this recruiting class rolling.