When you’ve been the head coach of the same program for 27 years, you start to form an identity. We all have an image of what a Michigan State Spartan looks like and Tom Izzo just found another one out of the transfer portal to give his team exactly what it needs to defend its Big Ten regular season title.
With star freshman Jase Richardson mulling his decision in the NBA Draft, veteran guard Tre Holloman entering the transfer portal, and Jaden Akins out of eligibility, Michigan State’s roster outlook for the 2025-26 season is murky. Still, Izzo knows the style his team will play next season, a similar style to the last 27 seasons. So, he knows exactly the players to target in the transfer portal and Kaleb Glenn is a perfect fit in East Lansing.
NEWS: FAU transfer Kaleb Glenn is transferring to Michigan State @247SportsPortal is told.
— Dushawn London (@DushawnLondon1) April 10, 2025
Averaged 12.6 points and 4.8 rebounds this season. https://t.co/VJfzdmGsgW pic.twitter.com/38c5KSLHMT
FAU transfer Kaleb Glenn joins the Spartans
A former four-star recruit, Glenn struggled in his freshman season in a disastrous situation at Louisville, but the 6-foot-7 athletic wing found his game under head coach John Jakus as a sophomore in Boca Raton. Now, he’s ready to head back to a power conference and couldn’t have landed in a better spot for his skill set.
Glenn had an impressive year as a shooter, over 40 percent from three on 3.4 attempts per game a season after making just 1-7 attempts from beyond the arc with the Cardinals. With his size, he can be valuable shooting above-the-break threes as a trailer, in pick-and-pop situations, or simply as a spot-up floor spacer in the corner. But the rising junior's athleticism, not his shooting, is no doubt the reason that he caught Izzo’s eye.
As a high-flying dunker – though not as bouncy as Michigan State’s Coen Carr – Glenn is dangerous in transition. Last season half of his field goal attempts came at the rim where he shot 68 percent, and even more impressively he’s a 90th percentile scorer in transition averaging 1.4 points per possession. So often, Glenn is the first man down the floor, ready for a thunderous finish.
Because of his shooting, Glenn can share the floor with Carr, but with at least one of them in every lineup, Izzo can lean into one of his team’s biggest strengths. Last season as the Spartans stormed to the regular season conference title and an Elite Eight appearance, they were 99th percentile in both fast break points per game (15.6) and percentage of points on fast break (20.1%) per CBBanalytics.com.
To maintain its spot as a Big Ten title contender, Michigan State still needs a primary scorer if Richardson is one-and-done. That won’t be Glenn, but he’s the ideal role player who will thrive in East Lansing.