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A.J. Hoggard Enters Transfer Portal After Four Seasons With Michigan State
Guard A.J. Hoggard has entered the transfer portal. Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo had recently revealed the four-year Spartan would not be returning to his program.
Just over a week after Michigan State men's basketball coach Tom Izzo had revealed on the "Staudt On Sports" radio show that point guard A.J. Hoggard would not be returning to his program next season, Hoggard entered his name into the transfer portal.
Jamie Shaw of On3 was one of the first to report on the matter on Friday.
Hoggard spent the last four seasons with the Spartans, most recently having averaged 10.7 points, 5.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 35 games last season. He made 34 starts.
The season prior, Hoggard was named a 2022-23 All-Big Ten Third Team selection by the media and an honorable mention by league coaches. He averaged a career-high 12.7 points per game, 5.9 assists and 3.7 rebounds.
Hoggard took a bit of a step backward this past season, and his lack of production often hurt the Spartans, who finished with a 20-15 record, their worst since the 2020-21 season, Hoggard's first with the program.
“A.J.’s looking to make a pro career,” Izzo said on the "Staudt On Sports" show. "But he could go back to college -- it wouldn't be here. We have some younger guys, and he has exhausted his, and he'll graduate. But I think he’d like to get into pro ball. Whether it be Europe, whether it be the G-League. But nowadays, everyone will look at college, too, depending on offers from different places.”
Hoggard is second, sixth and 10th in Michigan State men's basketball history in single-season assist percentage. He is second in program history in career assist percentage at 37.4., fifth in career assists (609) and sixth in career assists per game (4.6).
The Spartans will likely have their starting point guard in Jeremy Fears Jr. next season. Fears, a class of 2023 commit, was ranked the No. 1 recruit out of Illinois by 247Sports and On3 and the No. 2 recruit by ESPN. He entered Michigan State as a four-star recruit.
Fears played in just 12 games last season before being shot in the leg in December, an injury that required surgery and kept him out for the rest of the season.
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