Michigan State Men’s Basketball will start its 2025-26 campaign as the nation’s No. 22-ranked team in the preseason Associated Press poll released on Monday.
Ranked No. 7 at the end of last season, MSU faces lots of turnover following an Elite Eight loss to Auburn. The Spartans are one of six Big Ten teams in the top-25 to start the season. Purdue tops the list at No. 1, while Michigan, UCLA, Illinois, and Wisconsin round out the conference.
MSU has spent 17 straight weeks in the top 25 since week six of last season. Under Tom Izzo, MSU has found a spot in the preseason poll for 23 seasons.
Despite five departures from last year's team, Head Coach Tom Izzo said he’s confident in his players who have stuck around in East Lansing.
“The four guys that are back, that have all started here in [Carson] Cooper, Jackson [Kohler], Cohen [Carr], and Jeremy [Fears Jr.], have all made significant improvement,” Izzo said after the team’s first practice. “What does significant improvement mean? I don't know, but I think every one of them is shooting it better.”
The four returning starters were named captains for this season. Last year, Cooper, Carr, Kohler and Fears Jr. scored 28 of the 77.7 points per game. With the addition of transfer scorer Trey Fort and emerging sophomores Kur Teng and Jesse McCulloch, Izzo said there’s been a lot of improvement from last season.
“Cooper has really lifted his game, Jackson is in some of his best shape, which really helps him. Coen looks better than he looked before and Jeremy [Fears Jr.], too; I think having a whole summer to really work in his game has really helped him,” Izzo said. “Big keys for us are what our two guys that really didn't play much, who were sitting out last year, are going to be like. Kur [Teng] is a big one, because we need some shooting; we did not shoot the ball really well last year. Jesse McCullough, I think, is going to help us, because he can shoot the ball, and he's got size.”
The Spartans have two new freshmen joining the roster, which Izzo described as 'encouraging': Jordan Scott, a 6-foot-7, 190-pound forward, and Cam Ward, a 6-foot-8, 225-pound small forward who was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Maryland.
“Our two freshmen who are coming in both played really well. Jordan Scott has been more like a Max Christie-type, and of course, Cam Ward, who might be the strongest, toughest freshman I've had in a while.”
MSU will kick off its season on Oct. 23 in an exhibition match against Bowling Green State at the Breslin Center. The first game of the 2025-26 season is marked for Nov. 3 against Colgate at home.
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