Tom Izzo and Michigan State are focused heavily on the 2027 recruiting class right now, and rightfully so. The Spartans don’t have a commitment in the class yet and the 2026-27 season is about to tip off in a couple of months. Knocking over that first domino would go a long way in filling out the class.
But the Hall of Famer has to keep an eye on that 2028 cycle, too.
Especially if he doesn’t plan on retiring any time soon.
So far, he’s doing a solid job, offering the elite combo guard son of Spartan legend Mateen Cleaves, and now he’s locking in an unofficial visit with one of the top-35 recruits in the 2028 class.
According to Corey Robinson of 247Sports, Kelly will be in East Lansing on Sept. 4 to begin his unofficial visit. He just visited his 247Sports crystal ball favorite (Purdue) on June 12 and this feels like a Big Ten-heavy recruiting battle with Illinois, Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio State, Northwestern, and Wisconsin also in the mix.
Michigan State has yet to officially offer the four-star wing from Naperville, Ill., but one would assume that’s coming on his unofficial visit to East Lansing.
This will give him a prime opportunity to get to know Izzo and the program early on and get that relationship built up before his junior year. Kelly was a major stock-riser this summer, jumping 15 spots in the composite rankings since June 30.
However, 247Sports has him slotted even higher. The composite lists Kelly as the No. 67 recruit in 2028, but 247Sports has him all the way up at No. 34. Expect both rankings to keep improving.
Purdue and Illinois look like the early schools to beat for the 6-foot-6 small forward from the Midwest, but any time Izzo gets involved, the Spartans have a chance. There have been several instances in which Izzo has beaten out Matt Painter and Brad Underwood for top prospects. Let’s hope this is another one of those recruitments.
Tom Izzo’s retirement still feels lightyears away
Offering Mateen Cleaves Jr. was the first sign that Izzo wasn’t planning on retiring any time soon, but now locking in a visit with Kelly proves that the Hall of Famer still has some good years left.
Outsiders probably assume Izzo is down to his last year or two of coaching, but that doesn’t seem to be the case with how he’s still recruiting at a high level and the fact that he just won a Big Ten title in 2024-25 and won 27 games in 2025-26. He’s gotten a second wind and he sounds more motivated than ever to chase that second national title.
Plus, he’s always said that when he’s ready to be done, he’ll be done and everyone will get that vibe. He is very much committed to coaching this program for years to come.
At this point, it’s hard to even imagine what a retired Izzo would look like. He’d be bored out of his mind to the point that he’d be hanging out at Michigan State practices every other day anyway.
National title No. 2 is on the clock.
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