Chris Balas appeared on the Huge Show and said that Connor Stalions apparently would be an assistant coach for a high school football team in the Detroit area.

There is also a rumor that he was turned down by one school previously. (Update: The School is Berkley)

Updated Article Provided by Ryan O'Bleness



Stay tuned.

Tuesday, Aug. 20
Field Hockey: at Central Michigan (exhibition)
1 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 21
Volleyball: at Notre Dame (exhibition)
6 p.m.
Discussion Thread
L 2-3

Thursday, Aug. 22
Women's Soccer: vs. Arkansas
7 p.m. Big Ten Network
Discussion Thread
D 2-2

Men's Soccer: at SIUE
9 p.m.
Discussion Thread
D 1-1

Friday, Aug. 23
Field Hockey: at Michigan (exhibition)
6 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 25
Women's Soccer: vs. Ohio
1 p.m. B1G+
Discussion Thread
W 3-0

Bold = home games

EAST LANSING, Mich. - No. 8 Michigan State women's soccer hosts its first two games of a six-game homestand beginning Thursday, Aug. 22 against No. 9 Arkansas and Sunday, Aug. 25 against Ohio.

Thursday's match, set for 7 p.m, will air nationally on Big Ten Network. Sunday's 1 p.m. match will stream on B1G+.

KICKOFF
The Spartans are coming off of a 2-1 victory over Notre Dame in South Bend on Aug. 15 in their season opener. Graduate midfielder Gabby Mueller opened the scoring in the fourth minute, while graduate student Justina Gaynor notched the game-winning goal in the opening seconds of the second half. Gaynor was named Defensive Player of the Week by the Big Ten on Tuesday after helping the Spartans to their first win over Notre Dame since 1989.

Thursday's game against the Razorbacks will be the first-ever top-10 women's soccer matchup at DeMartin Stadium. MSU's No. 8 ranking is its highest ranking since the 2022 season.

SCOUTING ARKANSAS
Arkansas is led by 13th-year head coach Colby Hale, who holds a 159-78-26 record during his time in Fayetteville. The Razorbacks opened their season with a 7-1 home win against NAIA member John Brown on Aug. 15. Four different players scored in the win, led by a six-point outing from reigning SEC Forward of the Year Ava Tankersley. Arkansas won the SEC regular season in 2023 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament as a No. 2 seed.

Arkansas is the first of two SEC opponents MSU will play this season, followed by Ole Miss on Aug. 29. The Spartans have not won a match against an SEC opponent since a 5-1 win over Kentucky in East Lansing on Sep. 5, 2004.

Thursday's match will be the second all-time between the Spartans and Razorbacks. Arkansas won the first meeting, 1-0, in Fayetteville during the 2022 season.

SCOUTING OHIO
MSU and Ohio will play for the second time in less than a calendar year on Sunday after meeting for the first time in program history in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season. MSU won that contest, 3-0, with a pair of goals from Bella Najera and a goal from Gaynor. Najera also added an assist on Gaynor's goal for a five-point night.

Aaron Rodgers is in his 12th season with the Bobcats after leading Ohio to the MAC tournament title last season and holds an overall record of 83-100-24.

The Bobcats are 1-0-1 after opening the season with a 1-1 draw at Butler before defeating Northern Kentucky, 4-0, on Tuesday.

UP NEXT
The Spartans stay at home to host Ole Miss on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. and Xavier on Sunday, Sept. 1 at 1 p.m. at DeMartin Stadium. Both matches will stream on B1G+.

Preview courtesy of MSU Athletics.

This is the first meeting between the teams since 2019.​

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EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's soccer will open the 2024 season, traveling to No. 25 SIUE on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 9 p.m. ET at Ralph Korte Stadium. This is the earliest start to the season for the Spartans. This is the first time that the teams have met since 2019 when the two squad battled to a 0-0 tie in East Lansing.

The Spartans ended the 2023 season with a 7-2-7 record and a 3-1-4 mark in Big Ten action. Michigan State broke the school record with seven ties.

LOOKING AT THE COUGARS
The series between the Spartans and the Cougars is tied 2-2-2. The last time the teams met was in 2019 in East Lansing ending in a 0-0 draw. The 2019 matchup was the first season for Cale Wassermann, who was an assistant coach under head coach Damon Rensing for four seasons.

SIUE was picked to finish first in the Ohio Valley Conference after an historic 2023 season. Last season, the Cougars went 16-1-3 in 2023, including going 9-0-1 in OVC play. SIUE's only loss came against Memphis on the road in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

SERIES HISTORY
The series history is limited between the two teams meeting only six times. MSU is 0-1-2 in East Lansing, while standing 1-1 in Edwardsville. The Spartans hold the slight 1-0 advantage on neutral ground with a 4-0 win in Boca Raton, Florida in 1995. In 2016, the teams met in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, battling to a 1-1 tie with the Cougars advancing on penalty kicks, 9-8.

PRESEASON HONORS
Michigan State men's soccer team had three players named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday.

Juniors Jeremy Sharp, Jake Spadafora and Jonathan Stout were all honored by the league.

The Big Ten preseason poll was also released Tuesday, as voted on by the 11 conference coaches. This is first season the league has expanded to 11 teams with the addition of UCLA and Washington. MSU was voted to pick fifth, while Indiana was once again picked to win the league. Penn State was voted second, while newcomer UCLA was picked third.

Sharp, who hails from Roseville, Michigan, earned a spot on the B1G Player to Watch list for the first time in his career. Last season, the defender earned second-team All-Big Ten honors, playing in all 15 games. Sharp ended the season with third-team All-North Region honors. He was tied for third on the team in scoring last season with seven points on one goal and a team-high five assists.

Stout, a native of Wyoming, Michigan, was second on the team in scoring last season with 10 points on five goals. The midfielder was named to the preseason list last season as well. Stout was also named first-team All-Big Ten as a sophomore. He also captured first-team All-North Region honors.

Spadafora, a forward who hails from Northville, Michigan, was tied for third on the team in scoring with three goals and one assist for seven points. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors last season, as well as capturing second-team All-North Region accolades. Spadafora was also named to the watch list last season.

PRESEASON PLAY
The Spartans played two exhibition games to prepare for the 2024 season. On Aug. 12, MSU defeated Butler on the road 3-2. The Spartans fell in their final exhibition to UIC 1-0 on Aug. 16 at DeMartin Stadium.

NEWCOMERS
The Spartans welcome eight new players to the 2024 roster with four freshmen and four transfers. Senior midfielders Levin Gerhardt and Shion Soga come to MSU from CSUN and South Florida, respectively. Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Michael Sly Jr. comes to the Spartans from Oakland, while redshirt-sophomore defender Ryan Van De Winkle transferred from Loyola Chicago.
The Spartans also welcome freshmen: goalkeeper Jake Grekowicz, forward Oscar Huerta, defender Brandon Munson and midfielder Jared Smid.

GUESS WHO'S BACK
Michigan State brings back its top eight scorers from last season, including leading scorer senior midfielder Sean Kerrigan, who led the team with six goals for 12 points. Junior midfielder Jonathan Stout was second in scoring with 10 points on five goals. Juniors Jake Spadafora and Jeremy Sharp were tied for third in scoring with seven points.

Redshirt-junior goalkeeper Zac Kelly returns in net for the Spartans. Kelly had a fantastic season last season, allowing only 15 goals in 16 games for a 0.94 GAA.

UP NEXT
After the season opener, MSU will prepare for the home opener, facing Bowling Green at home on Monday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. The Spartans then host Villanova on Friday, Sept. 30 at 12 p.m.

THE STAFF
MSU head coach Damon Rensing enters his 16th season at the helm of the Spartans. Assistant coaches T.J. Kolba is in his sixth season, while Nick Barry enters his fifth year at MSU. Reid Friedrichs, who enters his second year with Michigan State. Friedrichs has plenty of experience in the Green and White as a player, including Big Ten Player of the Year honors in 1996.

Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Michigan State will play Kansas at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 12 in Atlanta in game one of the doubleheader.

Duke will play Kentucky at approximately 9 p.m.

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Sixth-year senior Maverick Hansen, once a two-star prospect, is the only player remaining from the Mark Dantonio era. He is also the only captain for MSU this year that has not played for another school. He talked Thursday about just how much being voted captain by his teammates meant to him.

"The fact that the guys voted me captain, it shows that they truly care and value me, and I can’t ask much more than that. I love it. It really means everything to me."

Article: https://michiganstate.rivals.com/ne...e-world-for-michigan-state-dl-maverick-hansen

Media chatted with WRs coach Courtney Hawkins earlier today. Hawkins said that Montorie Foster Jr. is back to "full speed."

Last week, Jonathan Smith said that Foster did miss a few practices, but his injury was not long term.

Full quote from Hawkins on Foster:

"He’s full speed making plays. He had a great practice today. We’re all ready to go, the entire room. We’re ready to get out there."

I was able to break down the film and give a game by game evaluation and final thoughts for every player.

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ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference’s 2024 Runners to Watch Lists were announced on Thursday, featuring 15 student-athletes from men’s cross country and 18 student-athletes from women’s cross country. The watch lists were determined by the conference’s head coaches.

Three runners on the men’s side earned All-Big Ten honors last season, while a pair picked up All-Pac-12 laurels. For the women, five runners garnered all-conference recognition from the Big Ten and a duo from the Pac-12 notched all-conference awards.

The 2024 cross country season is set to begin on Friday, Aug. 30. Defending Big Ten Champion Michigan State is coming off its fourth women’s title in the last five years while Wisconsin’s men’s team has won six straight conference championships.

The complete 2024 Runners to Watch Lists can be found below:

2024 Big Ten Men's Cross Country Runners to Watch
Alex Partlow, Jr., Illinois
Skylar Stidam, Sr. Indiana
Will Ryan, Jr., Iowa
Luke Venhuizen, Jr., Michigan
Andrew Nolan, Gr., Michigan State
Emmet Anderson, Jr., Minnesota
Liem Chot, Sr., Nebraska
Zubin Jha, 5th-Yr., Ohio State
Elliott Cook, Sr., Oregon
Brian DiCola, So., Penn State
Nathan Walker, Sr., Purdue
Liam Tilton, Jr., Rutgers
Michael Mireles, Gr., UCLA
Nathan Green, Jr., Washington
Bob Liking, Sr., Wisconsin

2024 Big Ten Women's Cross Country Runners to Watch
Halle Hill, Sr., Illinois
Mariah Wehrle, Sr., Indiana
Miriam Sandeen, Jr., Iowa
Katie Altieri, Sr., Maryland
Kayla Windemuller, Gr., Michigan
Makenna Veen, Gr., Michigan State
Erin Reidy, Sr., Minnesota
Berlyn Schutz, So., Nebraska
Ava Earl, R-Jr., Northwestern
Daniella Santos, Gr., Ohio State
Maddy Elmore, Sr., Oregon
Florence Caron, Sr., Penn State
Payne Turney, Sr., Purdue
Sofia Condron, Jr., Rutgers
Mia Kane, Sr., UCLA
Gigi Maccagnini, Sr., USC
Chloe Foerster, Jr., Washington
Leané Willemse, Jr., Wisconsin

Release courtesy of Big Ten Conference.

Takeaways by Spartans Illustrated's @CarterElliott...

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Hawkins:

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Adams:

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Chiles:

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Martin:

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Hansen:

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EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State men's soccer team had three players named to the Big Ten Players to Watch List, as announced by the conference office on Wednesday.

Juniors Jeremy Sharp, Jake Spadafora, and Jonathan Stout were all honored by the league.

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The Big Ten preseason poll was also released Tuesday, as voted on by the 11 conference coaches. This is first season the league has expanded to 11 teams with the addition of UCLA and Washington. MSU was voted to pick fifth, while Indiana was once again picked to win the league. Penn State was voted second, while newcomer UCLA was picked third.

Sharp, who hails from Roseville, Michigan, earned a spot on the B1G Player to Watch list for the first time in his career. Last season, the defender earned second-team All-Big Ten honors, playing in all 15 games. Sharp ended the season with third-team All-North Region honors. He was tied for third on the team in scoring last season with seven points on one goal and a team-high five assists.

Stout, a native of Wyoming, Michigan, was second on the team in scoring last season with 10 points on five goals. The midfielder was named to the preseason list last season as well. Stout was also named first-team All-Big Ten as a sophomore. He also captured first-team All-North Region honors.

Spadafora, a forward who hails from Northville, Michigan, was tied for third on the team in scoring with three goals and one assist for seven points. He earned second-team All-Big Ten honors last season, as well as capturing second-team All-North Region accolades. Spadafora was also named to the watch list last season.

Michigan State opens the regular season at SIUE on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 9 p.m. ET at Ralph Korte Stadium in Edwardsville, Illinois. MSU opens the home season against Bowling Green on Monday, Aug. 26 at 7 p.m.

2024 BIG TEN MEN'S SOCCER PRESEASON POLL
1. Indiana (Unanimous)
2. Penn State
3. UCLA
4. Washington
5. Michigan State
6. Ohio State
7. Maryland
8. Northwestern
9. Rutgers
10. Michigan
11. Wisconsin

2024 BIG TEN MEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS TO WATCH LIST
Indiana - Samuel Sarver (SR, F); Patrick McDonald (SR, M); Justin Weiss (GR, F)      
Maryland - Alex Nitzl (GR, M); William Kulvik (SR, D); Bjarne Thiesen (GR, D)      
Michigan - Bryce Blevins (SR, M); Jason Bucknor (SR, D/M); Nolan Miller (JR, D)    
Michigan State - Jonathan Stout (JR, M); Jake Spadafora (JR, F); Jeremy Sharp (JR, D)    
Northwestern - Nigel Prince (JR, D); Collin McCamy (SR, M); Fritz Volmar (SO, D) 
Ohio State - Michael Adedokun (SR, MF); Siggi Magnusson (SR, D); Luciano Pechota (JR, M)   
Penn State - Caden Grabfelder (SO, M); Mohamed Cisset (SO, D); Matthew Henderson (JR, D)   
Rutgers - Curt Calov (SR, M); Joey Zalinsky (SR, D); Ola Maeland (GR, F)  
UCLA - Jose Contell (R-SR, F); Andre Ochoa (SR, F); Pablo Greenlee (SR, D)    
Washington - Peter Kingston (SR, M); Richie Aman (JR, M); Sean Sent (SR, M)    
Wisconsin - Birgir Baldvinsson (SR, D); Trip Fleming (SO, M); Kevin Andrews (SR, F)  

Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Jonathan Smith outlines his vision for Michigan State football | NBC Sports

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Former Michigan State football player Michael Jordan has returned to the area "to do his part in making kids feel their best for the school year."

Jordan: "Getting bullied about my haircut because my mom or my grandma cut my hair as a kid and going to school and having to defend myself because of that,” said Jordan. “I was like, ‘Nobody should have to go through that, especially if I have something to do about it.”

He now offers free haircuts around the area in his Mobile Barber Company trailer.

Jordan played defensive tackle for Coach Dantonio and ironically recovered a fumble vs Florida Atlantic in 2008. Maybe that is a good sign for the 2024 Spartans

And showing Iowa? Puzzled by the piece intro.

Don’t you have to score a little for that statement to apply?

I had mentioned previously that we didn't press as hard for information on Michigan State football's second scrimmage this past weekend as we did after the first scrimmage, but we still did talk to a few folks and were able to gather up some quick notes on a few things from Saturday and from the past few days of fall camp as a whole. Now, once again, a quick disclaimer that since media was not permitted at the scrimmage and hasn't been at practice yet this week, we are simply passing on a few pieces of information we received second-hand from some sources. Also, as always, things are still subject to change prior to the first game.

With that said, nothing groundbreaking, but here are some interesting nuggets that we thought fans might enjoy:

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Can you check with your sources to find out if Izzo “recruited” talent in Spain? Maybe the third party that coordinated games also brought talent to the attention of Izzo?

I’m not sure how that works or even if Izzo is interested in recruiting overseas players again.

Any Update?

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - 15th-ranked Michigan State women's soccer kicks off the 2024 season with a 7 p.m. match at No. 15 Notre Dame Thursday at Notre Dame's Alumni Stadium.

Thursday's season opener will stream on ACC Network Extra, with live stats available on MSUSpartans.com.

KICKING OFF 2024
The Spartans are coming off of another historic season under fourth-year head coach Jeff Hosler, who led MSU to its second-straight Big Ten title and first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in 2023. MSU ended the season with a 14-5-3 (7-1-2 B1G) record and a No. 12 postseason ranking from the United Soccer Coaches. Hosler enters his fourth season at the helm in East Lansing with an impressive 41-13-9 record with the Green & White. Assistant coaches Gabe Romo and Megan Link also enter their fourth season with the Spartans, while Allison Mack, who spent four years as an assistant at North Dakota State, joins the Spartan coaching staff as an assistant coach.

MSU is led by a trio of All-B1G honorees from 2023 - graduate midfielder Justina Gaynor, junior forward Emerson Sargeant and sophomore midfielder Bella Najera. Gaynor and Najera were named last season's Big Ten Midfielder of the Year and Freshman of the Year, respectively. Gaynor was also named a United Soccer Coaches Player to Watch alongside Providence grad transfer Meg Hughes for 2024, while Gaynor, Najera and graduate midfielder Regan Dalton were named Big Ten Players to Watch. Overall, 18 players return from MSU's 2023 team, while 13 players who started in at least one game last season return. The Spartans add 14 newcomers - 10 freshmen and four transfers.

MSU earned national rankings in both the United Soccer Coaches (No. 13) and TopDrawerSoccer preseason polls (No. 16), marking the second-straight season the Spartans earned spots in preseason polls. MSU was picked to finish third in the league standings behind UCLA and Penn State in the preseason Big Ten Coaches Poll.

SCOUTING NOTRE DAME
The Fighting Irish are led by head coach Nate Norman, who enters his seventh season in South Bend in 2024. Norman holds a 68-38-11 record at Notre Dame. Notre Dame posted a 12-4-4 overall record (7-1-2 ACC) in 2023 and finished second in the ACC while advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Graduate midfielder/forward Ellie Ospeck is Notre Dame's top returning scorer from 2023. She scored 17 points from five goals and seven assists last season. Sophomore goalkeeper Atlee Olofson, who started in goal during the ACC season, held a save percentage of .763 and made 45 saves last season.

STORY OF THE SERIES
Thursday's match will be the 16th all-time between the Spartans and Fighting Irish. Notre Dame holds a 13-2-0 edge in the series, including a 6-1 record in South Bend. MSU and Notre Dame last met last season on Sept. 3 in East Lansing, with Notre Dame earning a 2-1 win. Current senior forward scored the lone goal for the Spartans in that game. The Spartans' only wins in the series came in the first two meetings - Nov. 4, 1988, 3-0, in East Lansing, and Sept. 22, 1989, 3-0, in South Bend.

UP NEXT
MSU hosts Arkansas in its home opener on Thursday, Aug. 22 at DeMartin Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff. The game will air nationally on the Big Ten Network.

Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

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Gaynor Named Big Ten Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week​

ROSEMONT, Ill. - Michigan State women's soccer graduate student Justina Gaynor was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the conference Tuesday.

Gaynor earns the league's first defensive player of the week award of the season after scoring the game-winning goal in MSU's season-opening 2-1 win at No. 15 Notre Dame, starting and playing 77 minutes at center back. The win was the Spartans' first over the Fighting Irish since 1989 and just the third win overall in the 16-game series.

The Shelby Township, Michigan, native collects the first Big Ten weekly honor of her career and the first defensive weekly award from the conference for the Spartans since Regan Dalton on Oct. 10 last season.

MSU hosts Arkansas in its home opener at DeMartin Stadium on Thursday, Aug. 22 at 7 p.m. on Big Ten Network.

Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

Game thread here and we will post the recordings later pending availability of the live stream.

Spartan season ticket holders received a letter from head Coach Jonathan Smith this year. Along with seven tickets for MSU’s home games this season.