Michigan State Players Who Won't Return for 2026-27 Season

That's a wrap on the 2025-26 basketball season.

Third-seeded Michigan State is done after a 67-63 loss to 2-seed UConn in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. The loss finishes off the program's 28th consecutive season in March Madness and Tom Izzo's 31st as head coach.

Mar 18, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; Michigan State Spartans Head Coach Tom Izzo answers questions during a press conference prior to a practice session ahead of the first round of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center. | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

Attention now shifts to how things change next season, which, on paper, could become one of the most complete MSU teams in some time if the Spartans attack the transfer portal right and with the No. 3 high school recruiting class in the country coming in.

Michigan State has five seniors departing the program. Some more guys can potentially leave in the transfer portal, too, but these are the guys who are definitely leaving and are at the end of their NCAA eligibility:

Jaxon Kohler

Forward Jaxon Kohler is the first name at the end of his college career. As a senior who spent all four years of his career at one school, players like Kohler are becoming a bit of a dying breed in college basketball.

Kohler, who is from American Fork, Utah, was also a guy who steadily improved during his time at MSU. He was a bench guy his first two seasons with the Spartans, suffering a setback in his sophomore year with a foot injury, but moved into the starting lineup as a junior and became even better as a senior.

Carson Cooper

Carson Cooper can leave Michigan State with his head held up high as one of the best developmental stories of the Izzo era. Cooper was a zero-star recruit on the B team at IMG Academy, with his only other offers coming from Eastern Michigan, American, Vermont, and Duquesne.

Cooper ended up being one of the better centers in the Big Ten this season and a centerpiece of the Spartans' defense. Izzo has said he wishes he had redshirted Cooper back when he was a freshman, because it still feels like there's a level or two that Cooper hasn't reached yet. He'll just have to do so at whichever professional league he ends up in.

Trey Fort

Trey Fort is also seeing his college career end after just one season in the green and white. Fort ended up playing six college seasons at six different places. He began at UT Martin, then went to junior colleges Copiah-Lincoln CC and Howard College, then to Mississippi State, then Samford, and finally Michigan State.

Fort was brought to MSU to provide some more perimeter shooting and to perhaps be the starting two-guard, but things didn't really click until the very end. Despite facing significant adversity this season, Fort powered through and played well in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. He should be remembered positively for it.

Denham Wojcik

Another one-year guy is Denham Wojcik, who transferred in from Harvard for a graduate year. The son of associate head coach Doug Wojcik, Denham eventually became the backup point guard following the injury to Divine Ugochukwu that sidelined him for the remainder of the season.

Nick Sanders

Completing the list of outgoing seniors is Nick Sanders, who walked on to the team four years ago and earned a scholarship prior to this season. He didn't see the court very often, but still played an important role in helping operate the team's scout team.

The 5-foot-11 guard is also the son of legendary Detroit Lions running back Nick Sanders.

Michigan State's Tom Izzo gives instructions to his team during a game against Rutgers on Thursday, March 5, 2026, at the Breslin Center. | Starr Portice, Michigan State Spartans on SI