Barry Sanders’s Son Joins Michigan State Basketball As Walk-on

The freshman played high school basketball in Detroit, the same city where his dad played in the NFL for 10 seasons.

NFL Hall of Famer Barry Sanders’s son is joining a legendary college sports program this upcoming season, and it’s not for football.

Michigan State basketball released its 2022–23 roster on Friday, and one standout name on the list is freshman walk-on Nicholas Sanders.

Michigan State's 2022-23 roster is out. The newest name: Nicholas Sanders, son of Barry Sanders, a freshman walk-on guard

— Kyle Austin (@kylebaustin) August 26, 2022

Nicholas is one of Sanders’s four sons. He will join Tom Izzo’s squad next season as a walk-on guard.

This comes after news came out that the NFL legend stopped by the Michigan State coach’s office this summer. It didn’t make sense at the time, but now it comes full circle.

The young Sanders will stay in his home state to play collegiate basketball. Nicholas played high school basketball at Detroit County Day High School. Barry spent his entire NFL career playing for the Detroit Lions, playing running back from 1989–98.

Michigan State went 23–13 last year. They played in the NCAA tournament, losing in the second round to Duke. The team has two national titles in its history, along with 10 Final Four appearances.

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