The Michigan State Spartans are going to need a cold-blooded closer to finish games and help this team to back-to-back Big Ten titles and a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament. Who will it be next season?

The Michigan State Spartans are heading into the 2025-26 season with high expectations as they attempt to repeat as Big Ten champions and are eager for a deeper run in the NCAA Tournament to a Final Four and national championship appearance. To do so, they will need to close games out.

With multiple new additions and some key returning pieces, who is going to step up as the Spartans’ go-to guy at the end of the contests to close out and win big games?

Last season, true freshman star Jase Richardson was the top closer to put games away, mostly in the second half of the season. With him entering the 2025 NBA Draft, Michigan State will need a new star to step up in crunch time and score big buckets to put teams out of reach of a comeback.

The top pick in my eyes is a guy who is unproven in East Lansing but has the potential to be the best player on the team this season. Samford Bulldogs transfer guard Trey Fort is entering his senior season at his fourth school and will likely be the starting shooting guard for head coach Tom Izzo.