MSU Setting Sights on Two Blue-Chip 2027 Point Guards
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Michigan State's recruiting board for the 2027 recruiting class is starting to take shape.
The Spartans are in an interesting spot this cycle. MSU doesn't have a single scholarship player with eligibility expiring under the NCAA's new 5-in-5 rule, but there is a good list of players capable of becoming NBA-ready. If Michigan State lives up to its high preseason expectations, it's almost certain that at least one player will go pro.
Tom Izzo and the MSU staff have recently offered a pair of point guards. The Spartans offered Joshua Tyson back on June 29, and then they offered Jaxson Davis on Saturday, July 4. Both Tyson and Davis are high-tier 4-star recruits; Davis is ranked 45th overall on the 247Sports Composite, and Tyson is ranked 65th.
Point guard feels like a likely need for Michigan State this cycle. All-American Jeremy Fears Jr. will have another season of eligibility remaining, but he seemed to be closer to going pro than people were expecting this offseason, and the odds that Fears is still around East Lansing for 2027-28 definitely feel below 50%.
Basics on Davis
Davis is a point guard who has been on MSU's radar for a long time. The Spartans only formally offered Davis on Independence Day. Some of his other notable offers to this point include Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Purdue, and some other high-major programs.
This recruitment seems pretty Midwestern. Davis is from Gurnee, Ill., though he's now at Monarch Academy in Kansas City. His composite score of .9828 is very close to that of incoming freshman Carlos Medlock Jr. (.9823). High-quality point guard play is something Izzo can constantly point to when talking about his more successful teams and eras. Landing either Davis or Tyson would be a big victory in preserving that tradition in East Lansing.
Basics on Tyson
Tyson's recruitment will also be interesting to watch. He's another Midwestern prospect, coming out of West Chester, Ohio. One recent development for Tyson was his decision to transfer from Lakota West High School to La Lumiere School in Indiana.
That's big, since La Lumiere has been a place Izzo and the Spartans have gone to several times in search of talent. It's where Fears spent his senior year. Jaren Jackson Jr. played there. Plenty of other MSU targets and players have gone through La Lumiere over the years.
It's also worth noting that shooting guard Kingston Thomas is headed to La Lumiere. Thomas, an East Lansing native, was the very first 2027 recruit that Michigan State offered. He recently got bumped up to 4-star status and is currently ranked 143rd overall.
The good thing here is that there seems to be a pretty clear succession plan for whenever Fears leaves. Athletes are usually packed full of confidence, but even Medlock admitted, while speaking at the Moneyball Pro-Am, that he's glad Fears stayed so that he can learn from him for a season.
What a Post-Fears MSU May Look Like
The way Izzo is moving on the recruiting trail, it seems like the expectation for him is that Fears will open up a spot by going to the NBA next offseason. At the very least, the possibility is real enough that Izzo is preparing for it. If Izzo felt that Fears would probably be around for the 2027-28 season, there wouldn't really be any need to go out and add multiple point guards to the recruiting board.
Medlock looked impressive during his Moneyball debut, good enough that it made me wonder if he'll command minutes beyond just whenever Fears is taking a break. That would limit Medlock to roughly 10 minutes a game, if that. We'll have to see how his defense holds up once practices officially begin in September, but Medlock doesn't appear to be a 10-minute-per-game player.
It also shows that Izzo doesn't seem to plan to slow down when Fears, somebody he often compares to Mateen Cleaves, leaves. Fears recently said on a podcast that he doesn't think Izzo "will be here for a while," and that there isn't any desire to step away from college basketball yet. Fears very well may end up being the defining player of the 2020s for Michigan State, but Izzo is still thinking beyond that.
Now, Izzo will eventually have to step away, but there is still no need for that. MSU is still winning and currently on an upward trajectory again. Izzo has said plenty of times he's got time left, and his players are saying the same thing. The continued forward-thinking approach is just another positive sign about the near 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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