Izzo Promotes Promising 2025-26 Campaign for Veteran Forward

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Aidan Champion | Last updated Aug 22, 2025 4:00 PM ET

Michigan State basketball has been written off by much of the college basketball world this offseason.

The Big Ten has only gotten better, while the Spartans took a bit of a step backward personnel-wise, but how significant that is remains to be seen.

What Michigan State has going for it are the players it was able to retain. The Spartans bring back four key returners who were all instrumental in their run to a Big Ten title and an Elite Eight appearance.

One of those players, senior forward Jaxon Kohler, showcased a little preview of what could be in store for his 2025-26 campaign in that very Elite Eight game.

The Spartan big man shined for the Green and White in that loss to the No. 1 overall seed, Auburn, turning in a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds.

Michigan State coach Tom Izzo spoke highly of the veteran forward's progress when he spoke to CBS Sports basketball insider Jon Rothstein on his show, "Inside College Basketball Now."

"Kohler and (Carson) Cooper have really had a hell of a summer," Izzo said. "And he (Kohler) can shoot it, and he can score it down low, and he did have a really good game (against Auburn). I think we went 3 or 4 for 23 from the 3-point line with our two players, Holloman and Akins. So, that hurt us; we didn't make shots, and they (Auburn) deserved to move on, but I think we hung in there, and I think some of that w as Kohler, and I think he's going to be a very, very good player for us."

Kohler was a bright spot in that heartbreaking loss that ended Michigan State's magical run, and while it was one of his best outings of the season, what mattered was that his team came up short.

Auburn loss still lingers for Jaxon Kohler

"We're all still upset about the Auburn loss; I'm still upset," Kohler told me earlier this summer. "It drives me every day. But at a certain point, you have to bounce right back up from the floor. And for me, that was the next day after the Auburn loss. I know that we were one game away from the Final Four, and that's everybody's dreams; that's what most people fight for when they play basketball, especially at this level."