George Mason Transfer Keshawn Hall a 6’7 230 lbs SF averaging 16 pts per game 8 rebounds. He has MSU in his top 4 schools. UCF USC Arkansas and of course MSU.

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As I reported earlier today, in-state priority linebacker Charles White out of Orchard Lake St. Mary's will take an official visit to Michigan State during the weekend of June 7 through June 9.

"Something that stands out to me is definitely just them being a big in-state school," White said about Michigan State. "I definitely feel like a priority. I talk to Coach Joe (Rossi) almost every day."

White is expected to see a bump in his rating this week.

More here:

I love the Masters.

I love the history, the competition, the azaleas, the pines, the peach ice cream sandwiches, the silly rules... All of it.

My bets were (before today) Abeg, Dechambeau, and Fleetwood.

Who else loves the Masters and who else has a pick for the winner?

(Even if you say Scottie, that's OK, still a good pick. Not exciting or sexy but still ok).

On Monday, Mex Carey (associate director of athletic communications for MSU men’s basketball) is running the Boston Marathon, for a great cause. Make a donation and receive a free MSU t-shirt courtesy of Spartans Illustrated and Nudge Printing. Read all about it here:

New defensive coordinator Joe Rossi has a position in his defense called "rush end". You're going to hear a lot about this position as long as Rossi's the coordinator because it has been very successful in the past, especially at Minnesota.

Michigan State even hired a rush ends coach in Chad Wilt.

The rush ends operate as its own position room, separate from the interior of the defensive line and the typical defensive end position.

Who's in the rush ends room?

It's a small position room of just five players right now. Keep in mind there is typically going to be one rush end on the field at a time in Rossi's system.

Here are the five players working at rush end in practice:

#2 6th-Yr. Khris Bogle (6'4" 244 lbs)
#9 So. Jalen Thompson (6'3" 260 lbs)
#22 So. Bai Jobe (6'4" 252 lbs)
#32 R-So. James Schott (6'4" 228 lbs)
#56 R-So. Jay Coyne (6'1" 229 lbs)

Difference between rush ends and defensive ends?

When we (the media) talked to Jalen Thompson this week, he said that the rush ends will tend to be lighter in weight than the normal defensive ends. Rush ends will be asked to rush the passer AND be athletic enough to drop back in coverage, similar to the role of an outside linebacker.

The idea is that this can create a hybrid look up front, sometimes three down linemen, sometimes four down linemen, and it could confuse opposing offenses. You'll also see these rush ends be in a two-point stance (standing up) more times than not.

This is definitely one of the bigger schematic/positioning differences from the previous regime to the current regime. Players seem excited about. Bogle and Thompson told the media on Tuesday that they have experience playing something similar to rush end, Bogle at Florida and Thompson in high school.

We need him!

Jonathan Smith had an intro meeting with Jalen Thompson and they talked about how Thompson fit in the team, what he could do for the Spartans and that he still wants Thompson in East Lansing.

“He sat down with everybody,” Thompson said about Smith. “So I feel like that really helped because now I get to know how he is as a person and he tells you his plan, his process. I mean, I would say Coach Smith has been a man of his word ever since he stepped in the door. Everything he said he was going to do, he’s done.”

More on Thompson, his thoughts on the new staff, his new role as a rush end and his development as a player:

Some videos from Tuesday's media availability session.

DL coach Legi Suiaunoa
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Rush end Khris Bogle
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Rush end Jalen Thompson
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EAST LANSING, Mich – Freshman No. 92-ranked Ria Bhakta became the first Spartan since 2019 to be named the Big Ten Women's Tennis Player of the Week, as announced by the conference on Wednesday, following her top 20 victory against Michigan's No. 19-ranked Julia Fliegner last Saturday.

"She has been knocking on the door for her whole young career here. Each day she embraces the process," said head coach Kim Bruno. "She has the ability to listen to her teammates, coaches and do the little things that matter. She wants to be great, that says a lot about a kid. If they want to be great, they'll do what it takes. Every aspect of her game has gotten better. I haven't seen this amount of growth in a short period of time from a player in a very long time. She's a joy to be around. I'm so proud of here and it was so fun to see her ear to ear smiling the last two days."

The Delray Beach, Florida, native Bhakta would pull off a come from behind victory over Fliegner for the biggest victory of her young career. Bhakta worked her way back after dropping the first set, 4-6, to rattle off two-straight set victories (6-4, 1-0 [11-9]) in a true back-and-forth matchup.

Bhakta has been Michigan State's top performer on the singles court garnishing an impressive 10-2 overall record in the dual season, 2-1 in B1G duals and 8-2 in her last 10 complete matches. With her big victory, the freshman has earned national recognition with her first collegiate ranking, entering at No. 92 in the latest ITA singles ranking.

"I'm feeling really good. Coming off the big win last Saturday. It was a big confidence boost for me. That win was a lot of hard work put together and I'm seeing it paying off now," said Bhakta. "For me, nothing changes. I'm keeping the same mindset I've had since the fall. Every day is a new day where I'm going to come out on the court and get better."

This accomplishment marks the first for the Green and White since Maja Pietrowicz in March of the 2019 season.

The Spartans and Bhakta will be back in action as they travel for a B1G weekend slate to Minnesota on Friday, April 12 at 3:30 ET, then to Wisconsin on Sunday, April 14, first serve is scheduled for noon ET.

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Release courtesy of MSU Athletics.

This could turn out to be a great game matching the two giants. Can Purdue bring a natty to the Big Ten after a 24 year drought? Can UConn repeat?

Rising 2025 ATH Bryson Williams (Orchard Lake St. Mary's) took a second visit to East Lansing this past weekend.

Williams describes how the visit went, how he is feeling about the Spartans in his recruitment, and discusses his plans for a return to campus:

He’d be a really nice pickup.

Now in his third season with the Spartans, Khris Bogle is needing to learn another scheme and more new terminology under the latest coaching staff led by head coach Jonathan Smith. On top of having three different head coaches in his college career, Bogle has also had several different position coaches.

“Learning from one position coach to another was kind of difficult,” Bogle said. “But the scheme stayed the same (after position coaching changes with the previous regime). I’m just comfortable with the staff we have right now.”

More on Bogle:

Purdue, Rutgers, Maryland and Wisconsin all
Made the top 25. I can’t say I feel bad about MSU not being mentioned. No high expectations to live up to.

Per Nate Bott of Lansing State Journal, Michigan State has landed Wisconsin transfer forward Charlie Stramel.

2022-23 stats (freshman):
32 games played
5 goals
1 power play goal
7 assists
12 points
39 shots on goal
59 PIM

2023-24 stats (sophomore):
35 games played
3 goals
1 power play goal
5 assists
8 points
42 shots on goal
20 PIM

Stramel was selected 21st overall in the 2023 NHL Draft by the Minnesota Wild. He spent two seasons with the USNTDP under Adam Nightingale. Stramel played at the 2022 World Juniors for the United States.

My take: This is a depth pickup. I expect Stramel to be a third line guy. Don't get too invested in him being a first round talent. He's got upside but the production was underwhelming at Wisconsin for a first round forward. Maybe the change of scenery and familiarity with Nightingale will help.

Sunday was the beginning of underclassman in NCAA hockey being eligible to enter the transfer portal, it also was the end of the season for MSU making yesterday and today a busy day. The Spartans saw Senior goaltender Jon Mor, Sophomore forward Gavin Best, Sophomore defensemen Vik Hurtig, and Freshman Owen Baker enter the portal. The four players had 19 games played between them and were scratched most nights, with Mor being the 3rd goaltender on the bench.

The Spartans addressed defense right away picking up a portal commitment from Colorado College Grad Transfer Nicklas Andrews, from Canton, Michigan. Andrews has 129 NCAA games played with 10 goals and 39 assists. The 22 year old (23 by seasons start) will be excellent depth with experience as the blue line will remain incredibly young again next season.

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Ohio four-star offensive lineman Maxwell Riley, a top-10 prospect nationally for the 2026 cycle, regardless of position, visited Michigan State on April 2.

Riley — who currently ranks as the No. 1 player in the state of Ohio, the No. 3 offensive tackle and the No. 9 player overall in the 2026 class — enjoyed his time in East Lansing earlier this month.

He is building a strong relationship early on in his recruitment with Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith, offensive line coach/run game coordinator Jim Michalczik and others on the staff, but the competition will be heavy for the coveted offensive lineman.

The Avon Lake High School standout, who maintains a 3.85 grade point average, likes what the Spartans have to offer. He discussed the recent visit and his thoughts on the MSU program in detail with Spartans Illustrated.

"I'm really grateful for the opportunity (to play at Michigan State)," Riley said. "As far as my relationships with the staff, I’d say it’s the main reason I’m very interested in MSU."

More here:

Wow!

Michigan State is certainly standing out to class of 2025 three-star defensive lineman Brad Fitzgibbon.

The Marist High School (Chicago, Illinois) was back in East Lansing this past weekend for a junior day visit, and once again, really enjoyed his time on MSU's campus. Fitzgibbon also visited in March, which is when earned a scholarship offer from the Spartans.

On his most recent trip to Michigan State, Fitzgibbon was able to watch the team scrimmage, get a closer look at the facilities and the full campus, and strengthen his bonds even further with head coach Jonathan Smith, defensive line coach Legi Suiaunoa and the rest of the MSU staff.

By the time Fitzgibbon left East Lansing this past Saturday, the Chicago defensive tackle had locked in an official visit with Michigan State for the weekend of May 31 through June 2.

Fitzgibbon took some time to detail his latest trip to East Lansing, discuss what he is looking forward to on his official visit and reiterated that Michigan State has his full attention, along with a couple of other schools as well.

"Our conversations are easy and comfortable," Fitzgibbon said about his relationships with the Michigan State coaches. "I think they are honest, hard-working regular guys, and believe in each other and what they are bringing to MSU. Although they are new to MSU, they aren’t new to one another, so that’s why I think their transition has been so smooth. We talk about everything from my visions of where I’d like to be to their vision of where they see me, my family, their family, friends — it’s just easy."

More here:

But UConn has a Clingon

Michigan State will have its Spring Showcase on Saturday, April 20 inside Spartan Stadium. Admission and parking are free. Gates open at 12:15 p.m. Eastern Time and the event will begin at 2 p.m.

Fans will have the opportunity to meet and take photos with head coach Jonathan Smith and get player autographs from 12:15 p.m.-1:00 p.m.

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The event will be broadcasted live at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on BTN+. There will be a tape delayed broadcast at 4:00 p.m. on Big Ten Network.

Here is MSU's press release for more details: https://msuspartans.com/news/2024/4...evement-scholarship-on-saturday-april-20.aspx

Just curious, because baseball is not one of the big 3 on campus ,what’s the expectation you have for the team each year? I have been going to games since the late eighties and this program has never seemed to be a priority. I would love to see Alan Haller hire a new coach or at least hold Boss accountable for a subpar product. I understand recruiting to the north for baseball is hard, but lower half of the Big Ten is not good enough in my opinion. I thought the Mahan years were rough