MSU's Glenn Gaining Valuable Role, Experience Despite Injury
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EAST LANSING, Mich. — This wasn’t supposed to be how Kaleb Glenn’s first year in the Michigan State program was supposed to go, but here we are.
Glenn has been ruled out for the season since June 2025 with a knee injury. All he’s been able to do during Michigan State’s games and warmups is just watch. His progress in his recovery has been substantial, though.
“He’s a freak,” Tom Izzo said on Tuesday. “He’s coming back from an injury where he probably should be starting to practice next week, and he’s been practicing for five weeks, at least, maybe six. That’s a plus. He’s built like Adonis. That’s a plus.”
Glenn was supposed to be the Spartans’ most valuable transfer portal addition from this past offseason. He averaged 12.6 points per game at Florida Atlantic in 2024-25 while making 41.0% from behind the three-point arc. Michigan State has managed fine this season without Glenn, but having that additional wing shooter would have only made MSU even better.
Importance of Glenn This Year, Moving Forward
This doesn’t mean that Glenn is just sitting on his hands and waiting for that knee to heal up. He’s helping give his teammates a look at future opponents, instead. Izzo often emphasizes the importance of his team’s scout team. Glenn has been helping out right there and, while I’m no doctor, is moving like somebody who would perhaps be ready for game action if it were “April Amazement” and not “March Madness.”
“His eyes are this big every day,” Izzo said. “He's very good. What he's taught me already, some guys can be on the scout team and some guys can't. That sounds stupid, because the scout team… if we are fortunate enough to win on Friday [in the Big Ten Tournament], we’ll get back to the hotel at 12:30 at night. The scout team will have to pick up whatever team we’re playing’s offense for that 9:30-in-the-morning meeting and walkthrough and everything.
“He’s got to be very cerebral. He picks up stuff very well. We didn’t know how that would go.”
Players of Glenn’s caliber aren’t generally supposed to be running scout teams. That is good on multiple fronts. Firstly, it’s a more realistic look for Michigan State at whoever Glenn is mimicking, since Glenn is oftentimes a similar level of player in terms of athleticism and skill.
Secondly, it just gives Glenn a season to get his feet wet as a member of the program. He now gets to know exactly what Izzo and MSU are about while getting a couple of dozen games to observe.
“I think the experience he’s getting that he didn’t have [at prior schools]: the NCAA Tournament, the Big Ten Tournament, the pressure of the Michigan-Michigan State game, I think [is] priceless,” Izzo said. “And I do talk to him about that as he's going through it because that'll make the process and the journey next year, I think, have more substance to it.”
That’s the beauty of the redshirt year: it’s basically the NCAA’s own insurance policy. Glenn’s knee injury is certainly a frustration, but he still isn’t losing any eligibility for it. At the same time, he’s getting to see every single in and out of the program before he ever officially sets foot on the court. He now knows what Izzo is like before a Michigan game, and he’s about to know what he’s like before postseason action.
Team chemistry is also worth noting here. He’s getting tons of time to get to know and what it’s like to practice with all his teammates. That lack of familiarity with a team’s culture or systems is usually the biggest hurdle to clear with transfers, who don’t get to go on a ton of visits and stuff like incoming freshmen do.
It’s never safe to assume in the portal era, but next year’s team is set to have tons of key pieces back. Jeremy Fears Jr. has two more years after this one. Coen Carr has another year. Jordan Scott has three. Divine Ugochukwu has two. Kur Teng has two.
Oh yeah, and MSU has the No. 2 incoming recruiting class in the nation, according to the 247Sports Composite Rankings. With next season’s Final Four also being in Detroit, the 2026-27 campaign feels tailor-made to be big for the Spartans.
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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