Next Steps for MSU's Cam Ward Following Freshman Year

Here's what is next for Ward following an interesting first season in the program.

Michigan State's Cam Ward celebrates after scoring and drawing an Indiana foul during the second half on Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, at the Breslin Center in East Lansing. | Nick King/Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cam Ward has already proven he is a valuable part of Michigan State's future.

The former 4-star recruit from Upper Marlboro, Md., averaged 5.1 points and 4.2 rebounds per game this past season while averaging 15.3 minutes per game. Ward is projected to be a bench contributor again next season.

What To Like About Ward So Far

Michigan State's Cam Ward looks to score against UConn during the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena on Friday, March 27, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

What's great about Ward is that you know you're going to get 105% effort every single game. A pretty good chunk of Ward's points and rebounds came from pure muscle, essentially. He'd sky in for rebounds, move with a jolt of energy some guys just don't have, and oftentimes get a layup or two a game off that.

Motor was the main part of Ward's offensive game, but it paid the most dividends on the defensive end. Ward's defensive rating of 100.7 (lower is better) is the best mark among returning players. It was only behind Carson Cooper (100.3) and Jaxon Kohler (100.5) for everyone on the team last season. His rebounding percentage of 16.3% was also the second-best mark on the team, behind Kohler.

Improvements Moving Forward

Michigan State forward Cam Ward (3) reacts to a shot clock violation by forward Jaxon Kohler (0) during the first half against Michigan at Breslin Center in East Lansing on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Polishing the offensive end will be the next big challenge for Ward. He didn't have any sort of jump shot last season. Ward barely made more than half of his free throws during his freshman season. Improving that jump hook and perhaps developing a mid-range game can certainly help Ward work around the paint.

Turnovers were also a bit of an issue for Ward. He turned it over 2.2 times per 40 minutes on the court, which was the second-highest rate among non-guards. Cooper was ahead at 2.3 turnovers per 40 minutes. Ward wasn't trusted to dribble a whole lot, and part of the reason Cooper might've had a higher turnover rate was just that he had the ball in his hands a bit more.

Michigan State's Cam Ward blocks a North Dakota State shot during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the KeyBank Center on Thursday, March 19, 2026. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI

Defense is Ward's strength, but there are still improvements to be made there. Ward was whistled for 5.1 personal fouls for every 40 minutes he was on the floor. Only Jesse McCulloch and Denham Wojcik were above that, and neither of them played enough minutes where they had to worry about their foul totals.

That's the big thing for Ward moving forward. It's great to play with an edge and a high motor, but MSU cannot have Ward get into foul trouble. One of the biggest examples of this was when he played only nine minutes against Michigan in the regular-season finale after committing four fouls. The Spartans need him on the floor for those types of games.

Michigan State's Cam Ward shoots a free throw during a game against Rutgers on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI