In many ways last season represented a return to form for Michigan State basketball. Tom Izzo’s squad has been in every NCAA Tournament for nearly three decades, but last year’s team fared significantly better than efforts since the pandemic. The Spartans won the Big Ten for the first time since 2020, while also notching 30 wins and advancing to the Elite Eight to cap off an incredible season.
The Spartans enter this next season with slightly lower expectations after losing their top three players from that Elite Eight squad. Leading scorer Jaden Akins saw his career come to a close, Jase Richardson went off to the NBA, and Tre Hollomon found a new home through the transfer portal. Those three guards will be missed, though forward Coen Carr and Jaxon Kohler both return alongside starting point guard Jeremy Fears.
A pair of 4-star freshmen in Jordan Scott and Cam Ward really boosts the lineup but those aren’t the only offseason additions. Unfortunately, the Spartans already lost forward Kaleb Glenn for the entirety of next season, though former Miami point guard Divine Ugochukwu becomes another asset in a new-look backcourt, and he’s not the only new guard of note.
It’s been quite the adventure for 6-4 guard Trey Fort out of Jackson, Mississippi, though he hopes Michigan State allows him an emphatic final chapter. He arrives at his sixth season after spending a year apiece at UT Martin, Copiah-Lincoln CC, Howard College, Mississippi State, and Samford, though those JUCO years mean he still has this eligibility. Fort is coming off his most productive season, becoming the Bulldogs’ leading scorer by putting up 14.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 38% from outside the arc.
After a well-traveled career and league honors last year, Fort takes on a new challenge and has a chance to be a major contributor for the Spartans. He’s a talented shooter and Michigan State certainly needs help there after losing Holloman and Richardson in recent months. We’re still unsure exactly how the depth chart shakes out but you can expect major minutes at the 2 from Fort if he handles the transition into the Big Ten.
Fort’s contributions weren’t exactly major in the SEC two seasons ago, but he’s a different and more experienced player now. He fits in nicely as an experienced presence in a backcourt leaning on Fears at the point and the freshman in Scott. If he can settle into a nice groove and continue building his offensive game then Fort could be a major weapon for another run at the Big Ten title for this program.