MSU's Ethan Taylor Excited To 'Skyrocket' After Tough Senior Year
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HOLT, Mich. -- Team LAFCU has a very strong case to be the most interesting team at this year's Moneyball Pro-Am.
Michigan State basketball sends its players to the annual summer event, and the players certainly don't seem to be randomly assigned. LAFCU has some unique prestige. Plenty of eyes are (understandably) on All-American point guard Jeremy Fears Jr., but he was paired up with a teammate about a foot taller than him: freshman center Ethan Taylor.
Why Taylor Picked MSU
Taylor is the second-highest-ranked recruit in MSU's 2026 recruiting class, which is ranked fifth nationally, per 247Sports. He says he's measuring at 7'1" barefoot right now. I certainly buy that, having craned my neck up to talk to both Taylor and 7'2" Charlotte transfer Anton Bonke. Taylor finished up ranked No. 38 in the class, including fourth among centers.
What makes Taylor's outlook interesting is his senior season at Link Academy in Missouri. Even though Taylor was a borderline 5-star recruit, he was coming off the bench during his senior season. Taylor was also teammates with Carlos Medlock Jr. there.
"It was hard," Taylor said about his year at Link. "It was hard at first, moving away from home [in Kansas] and not having my close people around me, but I built some friendships there that helped me get through it. Obviously, I would've liked to play more. I'm not going to go into detail about that."
Taylor was actually teammates with former Illinois star Keaton Wagler, this year's fifth overall pick by the L.A. Clippers, at Shawnee Mission Northwest. Wagler caught everybody off guard last season, starting college as just a 3-star recruit. Even after a tough senior year in high school, the jump to college can mean a fresh start, which might be the thing Taylor needs.
"I'm really in a position where a lot is being poured into me," Taylor said last week after his second Moneyball game. "A lot is being focused on me: the resources, the love I feel. I'm just getting better and better, stacking days. Of course, it's early, but I feel like I'm going to blossom here and skyrocket."
Kansas felt like the team to beat when Taylor became a clear target for Michigan State. The Jayhawks are Taylor's hometown team and are still one of college basketball's blue bloods. Taylor's official visit to MSU, coinciding with the Izzone Campout, was a major difference.
"I had a feeling," Taylor said about it. "Michigan State was really high on my list going into my visit, and then I get there... It's just overwhelming amounts of love. So I leave, it's just, 'Boom, I've got to go. I've got to be there next year.'"
One of the Izzone Campout traditions is for any new players (freshmen or transfers) to go crowd-surfing through the mob of students. Taylor got to do it a season early while on his visit. He'll be one of, if not the first, people to crowd-surf out at Munn Field twice. His name was also chanted out inside the Breslin Center. Tom Izzo had to pretend like he didn't know what everyone was talking about, with NCAA rules and all.
How Taylor Has Looked at Moneyball So Far
Taylor has scored 33 total points through two pro-am games this summer. He scored just 10 during his summer debut against Team Tri-Star Trust (Coen Carr and Jesse McCulloch). 23 points followed that in his second game vs. Team BLT's (Kaleb Glenn, walk-on Matthew Watkins). Moneyball doesn't record anything beyond scoring on its official site, but the rebound numbers for Taylor would certainly be high, too.
Of the four freshmen debuting at Moneyball, Taylor is probably going the easiest on himself. This doesn't put his effort or motor into question once the real season comes along. Some freshmen may be eager to put up a ton of points, but there does seem to be an understanding with Taylor that this is just a summer pro-am.
He and freshman Jasiah Jervis aren't too far removed from representing Team USA at the U18 AmeriCup last month. Between that, his first practices in East Lansing, and just moving to a new place that's far away from home, it's perfectly reasonable to ease up a bit and not risk any sort of injury.
Taylor and Fears together are still a fun watch, though. LAFCU and Team SPS (Jordan Scott, Julius Avent) are the two teams to start 2-0 through the first week of games. Taylor doesn't have a ton of polish to his game yet, but his passing ability and athleticism for his height make him an exciting part of the Spartans' future.
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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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