Former Spartan Hoggard to Join NBA Summer League

Former Michigan State guard AJ Hoggard is joining the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA Summer League, per Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress. The former Spartan will look to make an NBA roster after a five-year collegiate career that ended with the Vanderbilt Commodores.

There was pretty much zero chance that the transfer guard was going to be drafted this season, and the undrafted free-agent signing for the summer was the optimal choice for him to continue his professional career in the NBA space. Overseas play is certainly still an option down the road.

Vanderbilt’s AJ Hoggard will join the New Orleans Pelicans for NBA Summer League, I’m told.

The 6’3 ¾" guard averaged 8.8 PTS, 4.6 AST, 2.7 REB across five NCAA seasons.

Playmaking guard with positional size who led NCAA DI in AST% in 2022 and earned back-to-back PIT nods. pic.twitter.com/D25QZ3nF7B
— Jon Chepkevich (@JonChep) June 30, 2025

Hoggard was a four-year Spartan (2020-'24), featuring in 131 games and putting together back-to-back double-digit scoring average seasons before transferring to the SEC. Hoggard had a somewhat strong fifth season, averaging 9.6 points and 4.6 assists in 32 games on 26 minutes per game for Vanderbilt.

The former Spartans' goal will be to impress the Pelicans front office in hopes of signing an NBA contract with the club. It would more than likely be an "Exhibit 10" contract, meaning that Hoggard would sign a one-year deal for the league minimum salary for a two-way contract.

The two-way deal would allow Hoggard to play for both the NBA and G League Development teams. From what he put on display during his college career, it is more than likely that Hoggard would start in the G League and develop from there. He certainly has potential to be an NBA role player.

The biggest thing that could hold Hoggard back from making a roster spot and receiving a one-year deal is his size. Measuring at 6-3 and three-quarters, he is a somewhat undersized guard that does not possess the same athleticism and scoring package as recent Spartan draft pick Jase Richardson, who measured in at just 6-1. Some guy can get away with the smaller size, but Hoggard will have to elevate his game.

The main NBA Summer League session kicks off on Thursday, July 10 and runs through July 18. Each team will play four games, and the top four teams will advance to participate in a mini-playoff bracket from July 19-20. The games will be broadcast on multiple ESPN channels as well as NBA TV.

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