We’re less than a week removed from the 2025-26 Michigan State basketball season, but with the way roster movement happens in college athletics these days, that feels like an eternity to not know at least a little bit about next year’s team.
Fortunately, Tom Izzo provided everyone with an update on Tuesday.
According to a conversation he had with Tim Staudt of WILX, Izzo spoke about a few interesting things regarding his roster. First, he teased that a former player has been texting him for weeks, telling him that he made a huge mistake in transferring. And then he provided a current roster update, stating that he wouldn’t be surprised if anyone left, but he also would.
Izzo said that he feels good about getting everyone with eligibility back after meeting with his players on Monday, per Chris Solari.
Izzo adds that he wouldn’t be surprised if anyone eligible to return might leave MSU based on the climate of college hoops, but also says he “kind of would be surprised” after meeting with his players Monday. Feels pretty good for the Spartans to get everyone back w/eligibility.
— Chris Solari (@chrissolari) March 31, 2026
Obviously nothing is a certainty these days with NIL and the transfer portal playing a major role in athlete’s lives, but Izzo usually has a pretty good grasp on things. If he says that he feels good about keeping his entire roster together, I would say that’s a pretty positive development.
Ideally, he’d find a fifth year for Carson Cooper or Jaxon Kohler, but the Hall of Famer will settle for keeping the rest of his roster together from Jeremy Fears to Coen Carr to the last guy on the bench.
This could also be bad news for some Michigan State fans with portal hopes.
This will affect Tom Izzo’s transfer portal usage
While I think it’s improbable that every single player who has eligibility left returns and doesn’t flirt with the portal, if that does happen, Izzo will likely have his transfer options limited.
Michigan State loses five scholarship players from the 2025-26 team and it will bring in four freshmen with the 2026 class. That means there will only be one open spot on next year’s roster if everyone returns. Izzo will have one chance to knock his portal addition out of the park.
If that’s the case, he absolutely has to go with a portal center. There’s no reason he should be looking at any other position to address. There 1-3 spots are all loaded, and power forward will be just fine, too. Izzo needs a center to help out Jesse McCulloch and Ethan Taylor.