3 Spartan Baseball Players Recognized by Conference

A few Michigan State baseball players have been recognized among the conference's best ahead of the 2026 season.

Junior second baseman Ryan McKay, senior shortstop and thrid baseman Randy Seymour, and senior starting pitcher Nolan Higgins were selected as part of the Big Ten Players to Watch List, revealed by the conference on Wednesday ahead of the sport's opening weekend.

3 Spartans have been named to the @B1Gbaseball Players To Watch List!!

Congrats to:
Nolan Higgins⚾️👀
Ryan McKay⚾️👀
Randy Seymour⚾️👀#GoGreen | @nohiggy77 | @Ryanmckay51 | @RandySeymour14 pic.twitter.com/s2PPJj2FdO
— Michigan State Baseball (@MSUBaseball) February 11, 2026

How MSU's Players Got Here

McKay and Seymour are on the list for the second season in a row, while Higgins has made it for the first time.

McKay is the Spartans' top player, starting 100 games at second base over his first two years in East Lansing and leading the team in battign average (.319), walks, doubles, and multi-hit games last season. He played in the Cape Cod League in Massachusetts over the summer and continued to display his hitting prowess, finishing with the league's third-highest batting average.

big ten baseball watch lis — Michigan State's Ryan McKay hits a double against Ohio State during the fifth inning on Friday, April 18, 2025, at McLane Stadium in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That performance, coupled with his vast improvements in his sophomore season, earned him the No. 72 spot in Baseball Media's "Top 100 College Prospects" list and a spot among Baseball America's "Top 10 Underrated Prospects for the 2026 MLB Draft." He's also a two-time second-team All-Big Ten player.

Seymour is one of the players who helps McKay pace the offense, finsihsing among the Big Ten's leaders in triples, the NCAA's top sacrifice bunters, and MSU's leaders in hits, RBIs, and stolen bases. He was also the MVP of the 2023 Northern League Championship with the Northwest Indiana Oilmen, and delivered the walk-off single in a wild 11-10 win over Minnesota to get the Spartans into the Big Ten Tournament last season.

However, it's Seymour's defense that really stands out. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior from Illinois is considered the Spartans' best defender with a knack for turning double plays and leading the team in assists.

Higgins is the lone Spartan pitcher to make the list. His college career had a bit of a roguh start as he searched for his role on the team. He made seven starts as a freshman, but excelled from the bullpen, amassing a 1.83 era with a 3-0 record and 19 strikeouts in nine relief appearances. Higgins folowed that with a 1-3 season but really hit his stride in his junior year.

big ten baseball watch lit — Michigan State's Nolan Higgins delivers a pitch during a NCAA Big Ten Conference baseball game against Iowa, Saturday, May 13, 2023, at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, Iowa. | Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK

As a junior, he returned to the starting rotation, becoming a staple with a team-best 15 starts, which was also the fifth-most in the Big Ten Conference. He also threw the second-most innings on the team and was the pitcher the MSU staff turned to to make the start when it needed a win against Minnesota to make the postseason. This year, he returns as the leader of the pitching staff.

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