Who Will Be Michigan State's Closer Next Season?

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Tom Cavanaugh | Last updated Jun 4, 2025 12:30 PM ET

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.

Fort started all 33 games that he featured in last year for a 22-11 Samford team that finished third in the SoCon. He averaged 14.6 points on 44.8% shooting with a 3-point clip of 37.9% on just over six attempts per game. He was also a somewhat strong free-throw shooter at 73%.

The shooting percentages stick out as some of the best on this current Spartan roster and are a breath of fresh air after Michigan State struggled to shoot the ball well last year. Fort could be the guy to put games on ice with a dagger 3-pointer or a clutch layup to put the game out of reach.

The 73% free-throw shooting will likely rise as Fort has improved his totals at the charity stripe every single season in his career. If he looms near 80, he will be the guy to get the ball to at the end of contests to foul and sink a few game-winning free throws in close, late-game situations.

The Florence, Mississippi, native is going to be one of, if not the top offensive player for the Spartans. It only makes sense that since he is in the starting lineup, he would be in at the end of games to either ice a game or make a comeback. It will be very entertaining to watch him work in a Spartan jersey.

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This article first appeared on Michigan State Spartans on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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