Why Jasiah Jervis Gives MSU Something it Desperately Needed

Michigan State is using its freshman class to address several important issues from last season.

One of the biggest problems during the 2025-26 campaign was the lack of a reliable two-guard. The Spartans had four different players start at the position at some point last year. None of them truly stuck.

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

Incoming freshman guard Jasiah Jervis is hoping to be the person who solves that problem for 2026-27. There is plenty of reason to believe that Jervis can be the shooting guard MSU has desperately needed to pair with Jeremy Fears Jr.

Jervis' Recruitment

Jervis is the top player in the Spartans' highly touted recruiting class. He's ranked 31st overall on the 247Sports Composite and is achingly close to getting five-star status. Center Ethan Taylor is ranked 38th overall, guard Carlos Medlock Jr. is 50th, and forward Julius Avent is 87th.

There hasn't been a guard to come to Michigan State ranked this high since Max Christie. Jervis is ranked above where Jase Richardson and Fears were coming out of high school. He's the ninth-best overall recruit Tom Izzo has landed in the 247Sports era that spans back to 2000.

Jervis ended up choosing MSU over N.C. State, Pitt, Illinois, and Tennessee coming out of Archbishop Stepinac in New York. He also had offers from Florida, Michigan, Texas, and several other Power Four programs.

Mar 27, 2026; Washington, DC, USA; Michigan State Spartans head coach Tom Izzo reacts in the first half during a Sweet Sixteen game of the East Regional of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Fit at Michigan State

One of the things the Spartans had to overcome last year was that everything went through Fears. Sure, he's perhaps the best point guard in the sport, but it made Michigan State pretty one-dimensional at times. Divine Ugochukwu was the only shooting guard option who was really trusted to handle the ball a lot. The lack of real ball-handlers especially became an issue when he suffered a season-ending foot injury.

Jervis can become a serious upgrade at that spot. He's a more gifted scorer than Ugochukwu and somebody who should fit very well next to Fears. Jervis probably won't break down defenders and do it himself the way Richardson did two years ago, but he's still the versatile option at the two MSU was missing last season.

The Spartans sort of just had pieces at the two last season. Ugochukwu provided defense. Kur Teng provided shooting. Trey Fort was also considered mostly a shooter. Jordan Scott was pretty effective and will get minutes at the two again, but he's still a work in progress on the offensive end if he wants to be a guard at the next level. None of them were volume scorers, though.

Jervis can be that. Too much pressure was on Fears last season. Bringing in Jervis, a guy with enough length to be effective on defense, a good shooter, and a crafty scorer, will take some of that pressure off. That will free everybody up a little more.

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