Spartan Nation

Four-Star SF Selects Mississippi State Over MSU

While Michigan State was in his Top 3, this four-star small forward will not be playing for the Spartans.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo exits the court after 70-64 loss to Auburn at the Elite Eight round of NCAA tournament at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. on Sunday, March 30, 2025.
Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo exits the court after 70-64 loss to Auburn at the Elite Eight round of NCAA tournament at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. on Sunday, March 30, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

Michigan State Spartans

Despite having Michigan State in his Top 3, four-star small forward Jalyn Collingwood has pledged his commitment to Mississippi State. In the end, Collingwood decided to play for the Bulldogs over the Spartans or the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Mississippi State earned the No. 8 seed last season but fell to No. 9 Baylor, 75-72, in the first round of the tournament. HC Chris Jans has been with the team since 2022 and has a .710 career winning percentage. Sadly, he's just 1-6 in the NCAA tournament.

After being named the WAC Coach of the Year from 2018-20, Jans spent a few more years at New Mexico State before coming to the Bulldogs. After Collingwood's commitment, his Class of 2026 is stronger than ever.

Collingwood's Decision to Choose Mississippi State

Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo exits the court after 70-64 loss to Auburn at the Elite Eight round of NCAA tournament at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. on Sunday, March 30, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Collingwood is the No. 88 overall prospect in the '26 class. On October 15, 247Sprots Colby Glacubeno gave his Crystal Ball prediction. In reality, his 100% prediction of Collingwood going to the Bulldogs became a reality.

During the CBS Sports broadcast, Washington DC's No. 2 player spoke, "For my next couple years of college basketball, I'll be playing at Mississippi State University."

He added, "Just the love from Coach Jans. He had a plan for me on and off the court," as Collingwood told Bulldogs fans they're getting a, "high flying winner."

Louisville was the first to offer back on June 16, 2024, but Mississippi State was there before both the Spartans and Buckeyes. The Bulldogs extended an offer on July 12, 2025, two weeks before MSU (July 29) and nearly a full month ahead of OSU (August 7).

Collingwood's first official visit was with the Bulldogs on September 12. One week later, he went on his visit with the Buckeyes. Nearly a month after he visited with Mississippi State, Collingwood visited MSU on October 3.

At the end of September, Collingwood had Texas Tech and Vanderbilt in his Final 5. The four-star forward chose those schools as he cut out Maryland and Butler.

Michigan State Looks to the Future

HC Tom Izzo's squad is not playing Mississippi State this year, but the Bulldogs have quite a challenging schedule. Four of their first nine games are at a neutral location including a game against No. 16 Iowa State.

Later in the year, Mississippi State will have to run through a gauntlet. Seven ranked teams await them from January 10 to February 3 as part of the SEC's dominance in college basketball. No matter what happens this season, Jans knows he has Collingwood to look forward to next season.

Keep up with all our content when you follow the official Spartan Nation page on Facebook, Spartan Nation, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be sure to share your thoughts on which MSU players must step up when you join our community group, Go Green Go White, WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE. Don't forget to give us a follow on X @MSUSpartansOnSI as well.

Published
Jordon Lawrenz
JORDON LAWRENZ

Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.