Tom Izzo Confirms Michigan State's 2026-27 Roster Is Set, Shuts Down Talk of Returning Fifth-Year Players

Tom Izzo had the club going up on a Tuesday morning as he sat down with Jon Rothstein on Inside College Basketball Now, where the Hall of Fame coach held nearly nothing back and shared some interesting news with Spartan fans.

There was a lot to unpack from Izzo's sit-down with Rothstein, but one particular question and answer stood out above the rest.

Over the past week, plenty of questions surrounding Michigan State have entered the conversation following a new ruling allowing players from the 2022 recruiting class to return to college athletics. The decision came after that class was left as the final high school graduating class to receive just four years of collegiate eligibility, compared to the new five-year eligibility window under the NCAA's recently adopted 5-in-5 rule.

With the announcement that 2022 players could potentially return, speculation quickly began surrounding whether Tom Izzo would clear a roster spot to bring back a fifth-year player like Tre Holloman, who transferred to NC State before later admitting he made a mistake leaving East Lansing. Others wondered if last season's leading rebounder and the Spartans' second-leading scorer on a per-game basis, Jaxon Kohler, could also make a return.

Well, on Inside College Basketball Now, Rothstein got right to it.

After discussing the stability within Michigan State's program, Rothstein transitioned to the lack of stability across today's ever-changing college athletics landscape. In a world that has become more lawless than the old Wild West, Rothstein brought up the new fifth-year ruling and asked Izzo if there was any room on Michigan State's roster for a returning player.

Tom Izzo replied:

"It would have been okay in April, you know, if that's what we were doing before you recruit other kids and now we'll wait until August and we do something like that there's gonna be kids leaving campus next, thinking that they got their team together and they're going to come back in two weeks from their little mini break before school starts. They might have two new teammates and Shazam, some of them might be at the position they're at, right?"

He continued:

"We gave advice as coaches. The advice was, if we're gonna make a decision on the 5th year, let's do it in April. Then, you wouldn't recruit guys. Now I've recruited guys for those positions, I can't bring another guy in."

Izzo didn't mince words or even leave the door cracked open just in case. Instead, he effectively shut the door on any possibility of adding new or returning players to Michigan State's roster.

A coach who has always prided himself on doing things "the right way," even if some consider it the old-school way, Izzo pours himself into recruiting and building relationships with players long before they ever step foot on campus.

That approach was more evident than ever with last year's top-10 recruiting class. Now, Izzo is once again positioning Michigan State to land another elite class in 2027. With that surplus of young talent expected to arrive at the Breslin Center, there simply isn't room to bring back former Spartans like Holloman or Kohler.

Through the grapevine, it sounds like Kohler has drawn heavy interest from BYU, Kansas, and Kentucky. However, the judge who approved the ruling allowing 2022 players an additional year of eligibility also clarified the following day that unless those players entered the transfer portal back in April, they cannot simply re-enter college athletics and sign with any program.

As much as Spartan fans may enjoy the idea of a reunion, Izzo made it clear that Michigan State is moving forward with the roster it has assembled.

For players like Holloman and Kohler, everyone in East Lansing wishes them nothing but the best. But as things currently stand, it doesn't appear a reunion in the Green and White is in the cards for either former Spartan.