Spartans listed in top 20 of John Fanta's updated way-too-early rankings for next season
Michigan State basketball is in the top 20 of college basketball analyst John Fanta's updated way-too-early rankings for next season.
Fanta is one of the most well-known college basketball personalities, working for numerous major media organizations. He released his updated way-too-early on Thursday, which have the Spartans coming in at No. 18 in the country.
Advertisement
Among Big Ten teams, Michigan State is No. 4 on Fanta's list. He only has Purdue (No. 1), Michigan (No. 6) and UCLA (No. 12) ahead of the Spartans. Also included in Fanta's rankings from the Big Ten are Illinois (No. 20), Wisconsin (No. 21) and Oregon (No. 25).
Michigan State has been included in nearly every way-too-early top 25 rankings I've seen this offseason, typically coming in right around where Fanta has them here. It's clear at this point that Michigan State most likely will come into next season as a top 20 team nationally and as one of the top five teams in the Big Ten.
Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on X @RobertBondy5.
This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: MSU hoops ranked in top 20 for John Fanta's updated way-too-early poll
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
2026 Women's College World Series way too early predictions
2026 Women's College World Series way too early predictions The Women's College World Series wrapped after a hotly contested couple of weeks that culminated in the Texas Longhorns winning their first national title. It was also a year of firsts for Texas Tech as NiJaree Canady led them to their first trip to Oklahoma City in program history. For the first time since 2018, the Sooners didn't reach the championship series since 2018, only the second time in the last decade that Oklahoma failed to reach the finals. All but two games were decided by three or fewer runs in Oklahoma City. It was marked by incredible pitching performances and clutch hits, giving us everything we've come to expect from the Women's College World Series. Looking ahead to 2026, you can bet the Women's College World Series field will be full of familiar faces from the teams that made the trip to Oklahoma City in 2025. Here's a look at the eight teams we're projecting to make the Women's College World Series field in 2026. Texas Longhorns Texas will lose Joley Mitchell, Mia Scott, and Mac Morgan, but they bring back a talented group of players led by Teagan Kavan and Reese Atwood. 2025 Finish: National Champions Texas Tech Red Raiders The Red Raiders will bring back NiJaree Canady and are bringing in power-hitting catcher Jasmyn Burns from Ohio State. Texas Tech will be the favorite to win the Big 12 and be a threat to make it to Oklahoma City once again. 2025 Finish: WCWS Runner-Up Tennessee Volunteers Karlyn Pickens returns to lead a Tennessee team that took two of three from the Sooners during the regular season and was an out away from sending Oklahoma to the loser's bracket in the WCWS. 2025 Finish: WCWS Semifinalist Oklahoma Sooners You can bet Patty Gasso and a team that was one of the youngest in softball will be on a mission in 2025. The addition of Sydney Berzon gives them a frontline starter to go along with a really talented lineup. Oklahoma also adds the No. 1 recruiting class in the country, featuring the top position player, Kai Minor, and the No. 1 pitcher Allyssa Parker. 2025 Finish: WCWS Semifinalist Oregon Ducks The defending Big Ten champions will bring back ace Lindsey Grein and Riley McCoy who led the Ducks with 19 home runs this season. 2025 Finish: Made WCWS Texas A&M Aggies Sure, they underachieved in 2025, becoming the first No. 1 seed in the history of the NCAA softball tournament to lose in the regional. But they were a really talented team in 2025 and they'll bring back stars from last years team, like Mya Perez and K.K. Dement. 2025 Finish: Lost in College Station Regional Nebraska Cornhuskers Jordy Bahl will be back. Need I say more? It may be tough to expect Bahl to carry the Cornhuskers to Oklahoma City, but she's as good as it gets in college softball. If Nebraska can find her some help, they'll be in the Women's College World Series. 2025 Finish: Lost in Super Regional to Tennessee Florida State Seminoles Florida State has been a mainstay at the top of the sport for a long time. They're a team that is well-coached and recruits top talent. Lonni Alymedas will return the corps of a team that had a good season but couldn't solve NiJaree Canady in the Super Regionals. 2025 Finish: Lost in Super Regional to Texas Tech Missing the Cut UCLA, who has been a blue blood, is facing a lot of turnover this offseason. They've lost their top two pitchers to the transfer portal, Kaitlyn Terry and Addisen Fisher, a pair of players that were named Freshmen of the Year over the last two years. Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Iowa Football Preview 2025: The Hawkeyes Are Set For A 10-Win Season
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, there was a great pitcher named Bret Saberhagen. He's a fringe Hall of Fame candidate who won two Cy Youngs, a World Series, and had a great career. He's also forever known for a long stretch of rocking in odd-numbered years and being blah in even-numbered football has become the Bret Saberhagen of the Big Ten, winning ten games in 2019, 2021, and 2023, and failing to get past eight victories in 2020 (to be fair, there were only eight games), 2022, and 2024. X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN Iowa Offense BreakdownIowa Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season Iowa has won ten or more games in a season 11 times. Eight of them have been under Kirk Ferentz. Appearances in good bowl games have become the norm. The team committed the fewest penalties per game in all of college football, only Air Force was flagged for fewer yards, there weren't problems with turnovers, and ...Iowa lost to UCLA and Michigan State. If last year's team beat the Bruins and Spartans - who both finished with losing seasons - it would've been a ten-win Hawkeyes were good, but five of the eight wins were against teams that ended up under .500, another was against Illinois State from the FCS, and another came against a meh Nebraska that's been part of the formula for Iowa. It usually beats all of the teams it's supposed to. In the 10-4 2023 season, Northwestern was the only FBS team Iowa beat that finished with more than seven 2021 and 2019, Iowa won ten games in both seasons, beat good Minnesota teams, and the other 18 games came against the meh. This year, Oregon will finish with more than seven wins. So will Penn State, and so will a few other good teams on the Iowa slate. So no, Iowa might not get to ten wins without a little bit of help, but it's 2025. It's an odd year in so many a program overdue to make the College Football Playoff, and puts itself in a position to win every year, it might just Saberhagen its way into something special. Iowa Offense BreakdownIowa Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
Miami Herald
an hour ago
- Miami Herald
Iowa Offense Preview 2025: The Hawkeyes Have a Star in Mark Gronowski
There was a passing game in offensive coordinator Tim Lester's will never wing the ball all over the place, and only four teams threw for fewer yards - and three of them were service academies - but the offense pushed past a 60% completion rate for the first time in well over a ground game was the second-best in the Big Ten, and the 360 points were the most since 2018. And now ... X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN2025 Iowa Preview Iowa Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season - The passing game should be even stronger. Again, it wasn't exactly a high-octane attack, but it was more efficient and effective. But everyone who threw a pass is gone. On the plus side, Iowa upgraded at Gronowski won the 2023 Walter Payton Award as the best FCS player in America, and he closed out his South Dakota State career with over 10,000 passing yards and 93 scores. Auburn's Hank Brown was a nice No. 2 guy to grab. - It's still Iowa, and it'll still run the ball. Kaleb Johnson is now a Pittsburgh Steeler, and the Hawkeyes have to replace the 1,537 yards and 21 scores. Kamari Moulton was second on the team with 473 yards and three touchdowns, and Jazium Patterson was second with just over 300 yards and two scores. Gronowski can run, too. - It's a stretch to say the Iowa offensive line got by on reputation, but it sort of did. And then it started blasting away last year and did a nice job in pass protection. There's some work to do, but the options are there to work with in fall camp around All-Big Ten talents Logan Jones at center and Gennings Dunker at tackle. - There's a chance this is the deepest Iowa receiving corps in a long while. Jacob Gill led the team with 35 catches for 411 yards and two scores, and the rest of the top wide receivers return. Gill is the No. 1 guy, but the No. 2 wideout, Reece Vander Zee, only caught 14 Iowa, so the tight ends will shine. Addison Ostrenga and Zach Ortworth will be involved more. Iowa Defense Breakdown2025 Iowa Preview Season Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
