Michigan State center Szymon Zapala (10) goes to the basket against New Mexico during the second half of the Second Round of NCAA tournament at Rocket Arena in Cleveland, Ohio on Sunday, March 23, 2025. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Former MSU C Makes Final Roster for Home National Team

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Jul 18, 2025 12:00 PM ET

Former Michigan State center Szymon Zapala has earned the opportunity to play for a gold medal at EuroBasket 25.

The Polish national team announced its final roster for EuroBasket 25 earlier this week, and Zapala made the cut.

The former Spartan big man is joined by San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan and Philadelphia 76ers rookie forward Igor Miličić Jr., son of Igor Miličić, the Polish national team's head coach.

Below is a statement from Lukasz Koszarek, the Polish national team's sports director (translated from Polish to English).

"Experienced players, leaders of our team, as well as young basketball players who are just getting to know the team's system of play, were invited to the training camp. We believe that one more naturalized player will join this group. After the preparatory period and a series of friendly matches, coach Igor Milicic will choose the final lineup for EuroBasket."

Training camp will begin next Thursday. The team will then play several exhibition matches throughout August before it begins group play on Aug. 28. The tournament will conclude on Sept. 14.

Zapala spent the final season of his collegiate career as a Spartan, having started in 36 of the team's 37 contests. He averaged 4.3 points per game and 4.0 rebounds in 14.1 minutes of action.

Zapala began his collegiate career at Utah State, where he played three seasons before transferring to Longwood. He experienced the NCAA Tournament in four different seasons -- two with Utah State, one with Longwood and one with Michigan State, where he, of course, helped lead the Spartans to the Elite Eight.

Zapala was crucial to the Spartans' tournament run and Big Ten title, giving Michigan State the size it needed to counter some of the best big men in the country in a conference that was stacked with them.

Poland has never won gold at EuroBasket and has won silver just once, way back in 1963. It will play in Group D, which includes Iceland, France, Slovenia, Belgium and Israel. Poland will host the Group D games. The other hosts for the group phase are Cyprus, Finland and Latvia.

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