Michigan State head coach Adam Nightingale watches a play against Michigan during the first period of Duel in the D at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Feb. 8, 2025. Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Spartan Commit to Join USHL for 2025-26 Season

Originally posted on Michigan State Spartans on SI
By Tom Cavanaugh | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 5:29 PM ET

Michigan State commit Jonas Kemps is moving up the hockey ranks into the United States Hockey League (USHL) to play for the Chicago Steel for the upcoming 2025-26 season, per Ryan Sikes of Puck Preps.

Kemps is joining the Tier I junior hockey league in the United States for the second straight season after playing for the USA National Development U17 Juniors team last year in the same league. He notched four assists in 30 games as a 17-year-old. He will certainly hit his stride this season.

NEWS: I am told that defenseman Jonas Kemps will play with the Chicago Steel for the 2025-26 season. A Michigan State commit, Kemps had four points (all assists) with the NTDP U17s last year.@PuckPreps
— Ryan Sikes (@rms_hockey) July 12, 2025

In December of 2024, Kemps made his commitment to the Spartans, adding yet another top talent to an already loaded 2026 recruiting class. He spent the 2023-24 season with the Anaheim Junior Ducks 15U AAA team, totaling 46 points (15 goals, 31 assists) in 73 total games.

The USHL is one of the top leagues for players before they enter the collegiate stage, and some stay in the league until they are eligible to be drafted. It seems that Kemps is seeking to slowly climb the ranks as a junior hockey guy before he transitions to the NCAA before perhaps making his way to the NHL.

Kemps will enter the program alongside recent Chicago Blackhawks 29th overall pick, Mason West. The pair are highlight pieces of the class and are expected to join the Spartans for the 2026-27 season.

The Spartans are building and seem to have a method to the madness. They are continuing to take star players from the USHL and bringing them onto the roster for at least one year of hockey in East Lansing before being drafted. Even still, Kemps could get drafted and return to MSU for another year.

At just 17 years old, Kemps stands at 6-6, 185 pounds, which puts him closer to 6-8 on skates. It is predictable that he will excel for the Steel this season and give Spartan Nation that much more to talk about heading into another year of Adam Nightingale's reign at Munn Ice Arena.

The recruiting success is, of course, much needed as MSU looks to cope without Hobey Baker Award winner Isaac Howard.

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