For the past few days, Michigan State fans have been begging Tom Izzo to take a serious look at adding Jaxon Kohler back to the roster for a fifth season after a Colorado judge ruled that all 2022 class student athletes would be entitled to the NCAA’s new “five in five” rule.
This meant that Kohler would have a chance for another season and he was even reported to have heard from programs like Kansas, Kentucky, BYU, Louisville, Alabama, and a potential return to East Lansing was also ”possible”.
Izzo shot down any and all Kohler rumors on Tuesday, stating that his 2026-27 roster is set.
Tom Izzo has confirmed his roster is set for the 2026-27 season.
— Michigan State Content (@msucontent) August 4, 2026
“We gave advice as coaches. If we’re gonna make a decision on the 5th year, let’s do it in April. Then, you wouldn’t recruit guys. Now I’ve recruited guys for those positions, I can’t bring another guy in.”
(Via… pic.twitter.com/12lCEGyxJL
Some fans took this news a little harder than they should given that there aren’t any spots available for another player or two, but it’s probably because they’re coming to terms with the fact that Kohler will never wear the Michigan State uniform again and there’s a non-zero chance that he’s playing college basketball in 2026-27 for a fellow national title favorite.
I agree, that’s a tough pill to swallow, but getting him back for a fifth year after Izzo had already recruited guys like Julius Avent, Ethan Taylor, and Anton Bonke to fill in the frontcourt was never that realistic. Obviously hearing a return was “possible” gave fans some hope, but it was never likely.
Also, are we surprised? Izzo has remained consistent on his roster stance for years now and fans seem to get upset every single time he stands firm on his decision. Why?
Izzo’s right. He recruited a roster to replace the guys who were leaving and if they wanted to pursue that fifth year, they should have done it back in April rather than in August when the team is already full and the season is right around the corner.
Jaxon Kohler will be severely missed
I was never really holding my breath on the Kohler front and that’s because I had a feeling that Izzo was going to take this same stance that he’s held for years.
The roster is full, he’s recruited guys to fill in the gaps, and the team is already practicing and conditioning together so adding another guy to the mix would probably rock the boat. Everyone loves Kohler but it would take playing time away from someone like Cam Ward who has put in all the work this offseason to take over that starting role at the four. It would also limit the rotation at the four with Kaleb Glenn also getting less run.
Still, it would have been nice to get a fifth year Kohler back because he had been improving pretty drastically each season in East Lansing. That setback that he suffered as a sophomore may have kept him from reaching his full potential at Michigan State, and yet he was still great as a senior.
I can only imagine what a fifth year of him would look like.
No matter where he ends up (hopefully not Kansas or Kentucky), Kohler is going to have Spartan fans rooting for his success.
Until Michigan State inevitably faces Kohler’s new team in the NCAA Tournament.
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