Tom Izzo is adding some size this offseason. While Michigan State lost a 7-footer in Carson Cooper as well as 6-foot-10 power forward Jaxon Kohler, it’s bringing in some size that will more than make up for those departures.
We all know about 7-foot-2 Charlotte center transfer Anton Bonke who’s one of the biggest players to ever suit up for Michigan State, but there’s another newcomer who’s bigger than originally reported.
Incoming freshman Ethan Taylor — a recent representative of Team USA at the FIBA AmeriCup — is apparently taller than we had all originally anticipated. According to Izzo, the previously-reporter 7-footer stands nearly 7-foot-2 barefoot.
No, I’m not making this up.
A Spartan fan on Twitter actually brought this to everyone’s attention. He screen-recorded the recent interview where Izzo talked about Taylor and how he could be one of the biggest Spartans ever.
Screen recorded from my face time with coach izzo pic.twitter.com/Z6QaobwcBv
— Dude Guy (@dude_guy22360) June 9, 2026
Izzo isn’t exactly the coach who’s going to lie about his own players, especially when this is a verifiable claim, so I’m going to believe what the Hall of Famer tells us.
And if that’s the case, Michigan State has added two 7-foot-1+ players to the roster this offseason and that embarrassment of riches size-wise is a nice change. For years, Michigan State has had centers in the 6-foot-9 to 6-foot-11 range — heck, Xavier Tillman was just 6-foot-8. There have obviously been exceptions but we’ve all watched Purdue trot out 7-footer after 7-footer while the Spartans have been rolling out undersized centers.
That’s not going to be the case in 2026-27.
Michigan State will finally have a size advantage
Against most teams, Michigan State is going to have a size advantage next season. From shooting guard to center (not including point guard because Jeremy Fears and Carlos Medlock aren’t the tallest), Michigan State has size at just about every position.
At shooting guard, Jordan Scott is 6-foot-7. I can see Kur Teng (6-foot-4) and Jasiah Jervis (6-foot-5) also playing big minutes here, but Scott has the best size.
At small forward, Coen Carr stands 6-foot-6 and Scott will also play here. That’s not crazy size, but both of those guys play a lot bigger than that. I can also see 6-foot-7 Kaleb Glenn playing small forward when he’s not splitting time at the four. He can play anywhere from 2-4.
Michigan State has some size at power forward, although Julius Avent is the smallest of the frontcourt guys at 6-foot-7. He has a wingspan that makes up for it, but he’ll need to fill out a little more if he plans on playing the four in the Big Ten. Cam Ward comes in two inches taller than Avent, and McCulloch is even bigger at 6-foot-10.
And then there are the two 7-footers at center.
Michigan State could run out a huge lineup and still be incredible effective and efficient. Imagine this size in the same lineup:
- Jeremy Fears (6-2)
- Jordan Scott (6-7)
- Coen Carr (6-6)
- Jesse McCulloch (6-10)
- Anton Bonke (7-2)
Having four of five guys standing 6-foot-6 or taller puts a lot of pressure on opponents. It’s nice to see the Spartans possessing elite size for once.
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