3 Biggest Winners From Week 1 of MSU Moneyball
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HOLT, Mich. -- There are a few reasons why the Moneyball Pro-Am this season feels especially important.
Firstly, there are high expectations for Michigan State basketball this year. The Spartans will likely be a preseason top-10 team, and the hope is that the climax of the season will be at Ford Field in Detroit for the Final Four.
Secondly, the crop of newcomers is also heavily hyped. The four freshmen MSU is bringing in are partially why the Final Four feels like the bar right now. Moneyball gives fans a chance to get a look at them in June and July, several months before they officially debut for Michigan State.
Of all the players on the Spartans' upcoming 2026-27 roster, new or returning, these feel like the three biggest winners of the first week of games:
Julius Avent
The biggest winner thus far, by a relatively large margin, has been Julius Avent. He debuted with 30 points in his first game last Tuesday, and then Avent followed it up with 40 on Thursday, both games victories for him and Team SPS.
Avent had been the least heralded recruit in the group of incoming freshmen. Michigan State's 2026 recruiting class is ranked fifth in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite. Avent was a 4-star recruit but still had the lowest rating at 88th overall. The other three recruits Tom Izzo brought in were ranked no lower than 50th.
You wouldn't have guessed that Avent was the "worst" freshman on the team based on how he played during the first week at Holt. His 70 total points are the second-most among all players at the event, only one point behind top-rated freshman Jasiah Jervis. Freshman center Ethan Taylor has scored 33 points over his two games; freshman point guard Carlos Medlock Jr. scored 22 points during his first game before sitting out Game 2 with a hamstring issue that seemed to be precautionary.
What really stood out was the array of ways Avent was able to score. He can get physical in the paint, hit the turnaround fadeaway from 15 feet away, and be a threat from outside. Avent probably won't take a ton of threes right away for Michigan State, but his versatility and long, 7'3" wingspan might be enough for Avent to earn minutes right away in a packed rotation.
Jasiah Jervis
Jervis was also impressive during his first week at Moneyball with Team Faygo. He had the highest-scoring performance of Week 1, dropping 44 points in an overtime loss to Team Tri-Star Trust. That followed with 27 points in his first game against Team Motorcars.
I just get the feeling of "imagine if MSU had this guy last year" any time I watch Jervis play. He's the natural two-guard scorer that the Spartans were missing all of last year. Jervis' first step with the ball in his hands is probably only second to Jeremy Fears Jr. on the roster.
He is also probably the most true three-level scorer Michigan State has right now. Several other players are threats everywhere, but you can poke holes at one place or another. I just said Avent's has been scoring from the paint, mid-range, and behind the arc, but I still think his three-point shot needs development and reps. Fears hasn't proven himself as a three-point shooter yet. Medlock's height at 5'11" makes me wonder how he'll do in the paint.
Jervis just looks like the near-5-star recruit that he is, especially this past Thursday. Having him next to the top point guard and distributor in the country brings endless possibilities.
Jeremy Fears Jr.
MSU's best player is also a big winner from the first week. Personally, I hadn't been planning on watching Fears that closely. It's already pretty clear what kind of player Fears is; he's earned the privilege and burden of having very high expectations on him.
Fears looked even more improved during Week 1. He wasn't even going full throttle (no one truly is), though he'd have the best excuse to ease off after going through a bunch of workouts while going through the NBA Draft process. That decision, which ultimately brought Fears back to Michigan State, might have helped him improve, too.
The explosiveness was the main thing that stuck out. Fears isn't even necessarily putting up monster numbers at 43 points through two games. Still, he looks a tad quicker out there. The moment that stuck out the most was when Fears caught a lob pass and threw it down with two hands during opening night.
That's not really something we've seen since Fears was shot in the leg during his freshman season. It was something he had been doing prior to that, but he was understandably operating at a step behind the last two seasons. His first performances at Moneyball are a great sign that Fears is getting a lot of that back.
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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