2025-26 Team Preview: Michigan State

Veronica Burton is the WNBA’s Most Improved Player, and she earned the honor in the most lopsided fashion in league history. She has been unbelievable in sparking Golden State’s impressive debut season, and I can’t say I’m surprised after what I watched in Northwestern.

I will wait until next week to congratulate Naz Hillmon on her future Sixth Player of the Year award, but the Hoopla excellence is taking over the country folks.

Last Week’s Preview (Minnesota)

Table of Contents

• 2024-25 Overview

• Departures

• Returnees

• Incoming Players

• Outlook

2024-25 Overview

Robyn Fralick’s first two years as Michigan State head coach have been a roaring success, with 44 total victories and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. While the Spartans weren’t necessarily in the same dire positions of teams like Illinois and Minnesota who have made similar recent turnarounds, Fralick has also found the most immediate success, and has truly established an identity in East Lansing.

That identity? Speed and destruction. Michigan State increased its already-fast 23-24 pace (74.1 poss/40) to become one of the most fast-paced attacks in the nation. The shooting numbers took some dips in the process (-3.8 FG%, -3.8 3PT%), but the Spartans stayed at nearly the same Her Hoop Stats team rating (26.3 in 23-24) thanks to their defense.

Michigan State forced 21.6 turnovers per game, 12th most in the NCAA. Of those, 12.2 came on steals (9th in NCAA), while the team also held opponents to a respectable 0.74 points per play. This was also helped by an impressive post presence that blocked 5.1 shots per contest (16th in the nation). It was a terrific defensive season overall, and the Spartans avoided almost any significant lapses with just five games allowing more than 75 points.

The shooting trended down, but the ball continued to move around very well (17.7 APG, 13th in NCAA) and the offense had an important safety net at the charity stripe with Top 20 marks in free throws shot and made.

Just like Fralick’s first season, Michigan State rarely had an off game against a lesser opponent, but did find some larger success against some top competition. The Spartans split the season series with Iowa and Michigan, took down Vanderbilt early on and fell by just single digits to both UCLA and USC on the road.

They were a tough out up until their eventual lopsided exit to NC State, but the Round of 64 win over Harvard was the team’s first since 2019 and Fralick’s first ever as head coach, both great signs for how the program is progressing.

Here's last year’s Michigan State roster, sorted by Her Hoop Stats win shares:

Departures

Michigan State loses seven players from last year’s roster, with three transfers that saw limited action joining four graduates who will all be difficult to replace.

This has been a Julia Ayrault fan page the last two seasons, and I stand by it. She was a game-wrecker at times for the Spartans as a do-it-all guard that could defend all five positions, hit threes and get to the rim. She truly thrived under Fralick’s coaching and made a massive impact on the team’s identity.

Jocelyn Tate followed Fralick to East Lansing from Bowling Green and brought her turnover-forcing press to life as the team’s top pest, a massive badge of honor on a team filled with various pests. She was also one of the team’s top perimeter weapons and started every game last season for a reason.

Jaddan Simmons and Nyla Hampton were difference-makers in their lone seasons with Michigan State, specifically Simmons who led the team in minutes and was a steady force as a pass-first guard. Hampton, like Tate, went out there and ruined the opponents’ fun. Those four exits combined for 7.3 steals per contest, which leaves a whole lot of unknown to fill on the defensive side.

Returnees

If Michigan State is going to get back above 20 wins for the third straight season, last year’s extremely balanced attack is likely going to depend more on Grace VanSlooten and Theryn Hallock.

VanSlooten was a player with plenty of buzz in the portal after leaving Oregon, and she proved a lot of that hype right. Even with less minutes on a much deeper team than the 23-24 version of the Ducks, VanSlooten’s scoring, rebounding and block numbers all improved. That’s largely because of her complete shift in efficiency, going from 39.6% to 52.1% from the field. Without Ayrault, I expect a large volume increase for VanSlooten, and she seems extremely capable of taking that on.

Hallock, Abbey Kimball and Isaline Alexander are the final players to have stayed through the coaching change, but Hallock’s numbers have seen the largest growth as she has developed into a full-time starter that, as is on brand, can really annoy opponents to her greatest potential. Her shooting went the opposite direction of VanSlooten’s (-12.3 FG%, -7.2 3PT% from 23-24), but her numbers still improved as she took on a larger role. If the efficiency can return, she could be in for a true breakout.

Speaking of breakout: I’m looking at Emma Shumate and rising sophomores Inés Sotelo and Juliann Woodard as prime candidates to provide a huge jolt this season. Shumate is a three-point specialist that also has unique shot-blocking ability with her size that should be useful to a team that has been merely average from three.

Anyone who can make a coach consider bringing VanSlooten off the bench for eight games as a true freshman is probably worth noting, which is exactly what Sotelo did in the midst of Big Ten play. She was a terrific interior scorer and offensive rebounder who may also have some three-point ability in the back pocket. Finally, Woodard was flashing a ton of promise before going down with an ACL injury mid-season. I’m not sure what her timeline is, but the early efficiency led to some jaw-dropping per-40 numbers to start last season (35.9 points, 10.2 rebounds per 40).

It’s worth noting that two of Isaline Alexander’s games last year were starts before getting hurt. She’s a very capable post presence, especially as a shot blocker and offensive rebounder, and could battle Sotelo for time if healthy. And, despite a large number of players gone, I assume Fralick will still prefer to use a deep bench, which will make guards like Kennedy Blair and Kimball continually valuable, though they are likely to face a lot of incoming competition.

Incoming Players

Seven names out, seven names in for this year’s Spartans, and this list includes a lot to be excited about.

Jalyn Brown may be the team’s most talented natural scorer of the Fralick era. She’s averaged north of 17 PPG in back-to-back seasons for Arizona State and is especially great at getting to the free throw line which should fit right in for this roster. Her defense will be tested plenty here as it was not a strength, but a high-volume wing scorer is a fantastic fit for what Michigan State needed this offseason.

On the other end, Marah Dykstra is an equally exciting get for her balanced offensive talents and natural defensive ability. She was a huge factor on a Montana State team that won 28 games by putting its foes in jail, which again feels like a natural fit for this team. The last US portal add is a familiar face, and I’m so excited to see it. Rashunda Jones had terrific flashes at Purdue, but the roster may have been holding her back. That shouldn’t be the case here and it could lead to a major boost statistically based on what my eyes have seen.

Jones is one of five guards being brought in, and as said above, the large rotation should give a lot of these new faces opportunities. Jordan Ode is likely going to see time one way or another as a near-five-star prospect that also has some impressive scoring potential.

Sara Sambolic is a transfer in from Slovenia who has professional experience with the Slovenia senior team. She’s shown shooting and passing ability overseas and could help fill some of the gap Simmons leaves behind at point guard. The final two guards are twins Amy and Anna Terrian, with Amy earning four-star status as the high-scorer of the duo.

Outlook

Projected Starters

• Rashunda Jones - G

• Theryn Hallock - G

• Jalyn Brown - G

• Grace VanSlooten - F

• Ines Sotelo - C

Big Ten Finish: 7th

I have been so impressed with Robyn Fralick’s Michigan State teams to this point, and I see no reason why that is going to stop in year three. Despite the pretty sizable exits from last season, this roster once again has some impressive firepower and plenty of feisty guards that should give opponents trouble.

I have very high expectations for VanSlooten in her second year with this program, and Hallock should continue to deliver, especially with a major scorer like Brown alongside to take off some of the pressure. Jones should also be an immediate game-changer as someone who is used to Big Ten play and has loads of potential to be developed.

I think Dykstra and Shumate could compete for starting spots, as could Sambolic and Ode if they seem ready for the college games. I think Sotelo proved enough to take on a starting role, though, and fits a need of some added size inside.

Michigan State was great last year, but there could have been some disappointment with not improving much from the year prior. If that is the hurdle to get over again this season, I think seeing improved shooting percentages and a sustained level of defensive dominance will be the key.

It’s hard to think the Spartans could be much worse than this ranking, but I also wonder just how high their ceiling can get. It may depend on finding some breakout stars in a roster that has plenty of options, but at the least, Michigan State should be as fun to watch and as annoying to play as they have been since the start of the Fralick era.

Photo Credit: Del Rio Images, Michigan State Athletics

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