When Tom Izzo started piecing together his 2026 recruiting class, it was clear that the 2024-25 Michigan State basketball season injected him with new life.
Rejuvenated and motivated, Izzo set up a recruiting board with big names, five-stars, and rising prospects who were drawing interest from the likes of Illinois, Tennessee, NC State, Michigan, Kansas, Indiana, Florida, Oregon, Texas, Baylor, Houston, Kentucky, Purdue, and several others. And he didn’t back down from recruiting battles.
That helped him land Carlos Medlock Jr. to kick off the 2026 class. The four-star point guard was one of the fastest-risers in the class, and he was garnering praise from just about everyone.
Then, Izzo slipped in a commitment from four-star power forward Julius Avent under everyone’s nose, boosting the Spartans’ 2026 class into the top 30 nationally. However, the ideal class would still require 2-3 more commitments, and it wouldn’t be easy considering who the Spartans were going up against in these recruitments.
It didn’t matter.
On Wednesday, Izzo landed his top target, Jasiah Jervis, over NC State, Illinois, Pitt, and Tennessee. It was the commitment he had been wanting for months, and he finally got his future shooting guard to round out an elite backcourt in the 2026 class with Medlock. That might be one of the best backcourt duos that Izzo has ever landed in one recruiting class.
The ideal class is taking shape, but there’s still room for 1-2 more guys. Landing one of the remaining five-star targets seems likely, but two would break the internet.
Michigan State is still pursuing, and allegedly leading for, five-star center Ethan Taylor as well as potential North Carolina-lean Maximo Adams. Both five-stars have taken officials to East Lansing, and they would combine to round out the best class in recent memory for Izzo and the Spartans, but I’m still going to say that picking up one of them will complete the ideal class.
It was a pipe dream over the summer when Medlock committed, but the ideal class is coming together nicely, and it feels like Taylor will be the guy to complete it.
Are we looking at ‘The Class 2.0’?