Javon Ringer, senior football running back: The Spartans leading rusher from last season will return to the lineup and be the go-to guy after the departure of Jehuu Caulcrick. Last year Ringer was named the team’s MVP and was a second team All-Big Ten selection after rushing for 1,447 yards.
Jeff Lerg, senior hockey goaltender: The netminder has been the anchor for the Spartans the past three seasons. Lerg will serve as the captain this year after being named a Hobey Baker finalist and the first team All-CCHA goaltender selection last season. Lerg also is only 152 saves shy of the all-time MSU career saves record of 3,108.
Allyssa DeHaan, junior women’s basketball center: The 6-foot-9-inch junior stuffed 150 shots last season, breaking her own single-season blocks record that she set her freshman year. DeHaan’s 295 career blocks are already atop the MSU record books and she still has two more seasons to make the record untouchable for future Spartans.
Doug DeMartin, senior soccer forward: The scoring sensation led the Big Ten in goals (12) and game-winning goals (5) during last year’s campaign. Since redshirting his freshman year, DeMartin has started every game for the Spartans and will serve as a captain this year.
Franklin Gomez, junior wrestler: Gomez went 33-2 last season on the way to a Big Ten Championship. The Brandon, Fla. native also placed third in the 133-pound weight class at the NCAA championships last year.
Delvon Roe, freshman men’s basketball forward
Roe is the first five-star recruit that men’s basketball head coach Tom Izzo has landed since 2004, making him one of the most hyped freshman athletes in recent memory. Despite having microfracture surgery on his right knee during his senior year of high school and exploratory surgery on his left knee earlier this month, the team expects Roe to be fully recovered and contend for a starting spot in October. If that happens, he could be one of the premier players in the Big Ten.
B.J. Cunningham, redshirt-freshman football wide receiver
Much has been made about the departure of Devin Thomas to the NFL, but the duo of Cunningham and sophomore Mark Dell should be able to fill the void. Last season on the scout team, the 6-foot-24 Cunningham was twice named as the scout team offensive player of the week. He also caught six passes for 97 yards and a touchdown in the spring game.
Lykendra Johnson, sophomore women’s basketball forward
For all of the talk about the women’s basketball team’s youth last year, it was easy to forget their best freshman was unable to take the court. Johnson, a 6-foot-1 forward, had to sit out her first season after being ruled academically ineligible. Coming out of high school in 2007, she was a four-star recruit according to Rivals.com and also was ranked as the ninth best forward in the country.
Jack Newman, junior golfer
Newman’s breakout moment came July 19 when he won the 83rd United States Amateur Public Links Championship, earning him an invitation to the 2009 Masters Tournament. Winning an event with the allure of the U.S. Amateur Public Links is quite an accomplishment, but Newman will have pressure-packed putts long before he travels to Augusta National as he tries to lead the MSU men’s golf team to its third straight Big Ten championship.
A.J. Achter, sophomore baseball pitcher
The 6-foot-5 Achter showed flashes of greatness last year, going 1-3 with a 5.88 ERA as a weekend starter in 2007. With the loss of Chris Cullen (graduation) and Mark Sorenson (MLB Draft), Achter will have to become the ace of the Spartans staff in just his second year.
Brian Hoyer, quarterback, football
After a big junior season, throwing for 2,725 yards and 20 touchdowns, Hoyer ended the year on a low note, throwing four interceptions in a bowl-game loss to Boston College. This year he will be have to do without his main targets from last year, wide receiver Devin Thomas and tight end Kellen Davis. Expect to see Hoyer stay among the leaders in the Big Ten.
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Zac Scaffidi, midfielder, men’s soccer
Scaffidi has been the steadying force in the middle for the Spartans the last three years. He enters his final season as a captain and the lead returning set-up man, and has the Big Ten’s leading scorer, foward Doug DeMartin, to feed in front of the net.
Travis Walton, guard, men’s basketball
Though he only started 20 games last season, Walton was MSU’s vocal leader on defense and played the backup role to perfection. This year, he will need to play a similar role while providing the leadership that will be missed from the departure of Drew Neitzel.
Gina Mondo, second base/outfield, softball
Mondo hit .337 for the Spartans last season, with 58 hits and seven home runs. One of three seniors on an extremely young team, Mondo will need to repeat last season’s performance while leading by example on the field.
Nicole Bush, distance, track and field
Bush will look to run through the competition in the Big Ten this season. Last year, she set a school record with a fifth place finish at the NCAA Championships. She also finished seven seconds shy of a berth in this summer’s Beijing Olympics with a personal best run of 9 minutes 40.27 seconds and a fourth place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials.
Oct. 25 — Football vs. Michigan
Records, stats and history go out the window when the state’s two dominant football teams meet for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. Near the end of October, the state will pause for three-and-a-half hours to take in what has, in recent years, been a one-sided affair in the win-loss column. But for the first time in recent memory, MSU boasts a more stable program than the in-transition Wolverines, who lack an experienced quarterback. The Spartans could return to East Lansing from Ann Arbor with a victory this year and end an eight-game skid at the Big House.
Nov. 2 — Joe Baum’s last home game as men’s soccer coach
The men’s soccer team enters the 2008 campaign knowing that the longest-tenured head coach in program history, Joe Baum, will not return to his post after his 32nd season at the helm. Baum, the grizzled coach with a trademark scraggly beard, will cede control of the team to head coach designate Damon Rensing, who is entering his 10th season as a coach with the Spartans. Baum’s last home game will be an afternoon affair against Northwestern, but expect the squad to continue into the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
Dec. 3 — Men’s basketball vs. North Carolina at Ford Field in Detroit
The sequel to the 2003 “BasketBowl” game against Kentucky at Detroit’s Ford Field pits the Spartans against a talented North Carolina team that returns its top five scorers from the 2007-08 season that ended in the Final Four. MSU’s early test against UNC is part of a brutal opening set, which features the season-opening Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., against Maryland. The Spartans return senior Goran Suton, junior Raymar Morgan and sophomores Kalin Lucas, Chris Allen and Durrell Summers.
March 20-22 — Franklin Gomez at the NCAA wrestling championships
MSU’s best shot at a national championship, junior 133-pounder Franklin Gomez, will hit the mat for a title once again in the middle of March, barring injury or major upset. Gomez placed third in the 133-pound division at the 2008 finals in St. Louis after entering the tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Brandon, Fla., native likely will have to get past his stiffest competition, Illinois junior Jimmy Kennedy, at some point after beating him twice last year.
TBA — Jake Boss’ first game as head baseball coach
It only took Jake Boss Jr. one season at Eastern Michigan to make an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Spartans will look to Boss for the same success at MSU, where he was named the team’s new head coach this summer after leaving Eastern Michigan to succeed David Grewe. The baseball team’s schedule has yet to be released, but expect to see him in the dugout for his first road game by late February or early March and at Kobs Field about one month later.
