Interesting Update Drops on Potential MSU Return for Jaxon Kohler

A return to East Lansing is "possible" for Kohler, but other teams are calling, too.

Mar 19, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; Michigan State Spartans forward Jaxon Kohler (0) reacts to a play during the first half against the North Dakota State Bison during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Michigan State may be able to get one of its outgoing seniors back.

On Friday, a judge in Colorado ordered a class-wide temporary injunction that would make outgoing, four-year seniors from the NCAA eligible again. This is big news for MSU's Jaxon Kohler, who falls under that umbrella. Just a day later, Kohler announced through CBS's Jon Rothstein that he is considering a return to college basketball.

Could Kohler Return to East Lansing?

Michigan State's Jaxon Kohler looks on during a game against North Dakota State during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Rothstein's report says that a return to Michigan State for a fifth season is "possible," but it's hardly that simple. Kohler also says that he is receiving interest from BYU, Kentucky, and Kansas. BYU has been the team that has been linked to Kohler the most. Kohler's hometown of American Fork, Utah, is only about a half-hour drive away from BYU's campus in Provo.

Kentucky and Kansas are two blue-bloods who certainly draw one's eye, though. The Wildcats and the Jayhawks are two of the three other teams in the annual Champions Classic alongside the Spartans, but Kohler going to either of those teams wouldn't mean he'd face his old squad. Michigan State is scheduled to face Duke on Tuesday, Nov. 10.

What Bringing Kohler Back Would Mean

Michigan State forward Jaxon Kohler celebrates a play against Michigan during the first half at Breslin Center in East Lansing on Sunday, March 9, 2025. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Kohler is the one player who would really make sense as an addition in the wake of hundreds of previously ineligible players flooding back into college basketball. Carson Cooper is still ineligible because he signed a two-way deal with the Memphis Grizzlies. Tre Holloman has expressed interest in a return if the situation is right, but MSU's backcourt is already crowded enough.

The Utah Jazz signed Kohler to an Exhibit 10 deal, but that's more of a Summer League and training camp invitation than a real NBA contract. Players have already played in Summer League games and then went to college hoops before, and it's certainly going to happen a bunch of more times in the future.

Michigan State's Jaxon Kohler looks on during a Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal against UCLA at the United Center on Friday, March 13, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Bringing Kohler back might mean stepping on the minutes of Cam Ward, Anton Bonke, and some of the other members of Michigan State's frontcourt. That's the main downside of this. Kohler averaged 12.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game last year while shooting 39% from behind the arc. Putting Kohler back into the lineup brings more size, shooting, rebounding, and some needed defensive security.

More importantly, it makes MSU better. The Spartans are already national championship hopefuls, but not taking advantage of this unique opportunity to get even better and letting Kohler slip away to BYU or some other school would be the type of thing that probably gets looked at as a mistake several months from now, especially if concerns about the frontcourt's defense become problems.