This post was updated June 30 at 9:45 p.m.

UCLA is just weeks away from joining the Big Ten. After 96 years and 123 national championships in the Pac-12, the Bruins are at the forefront of the Big Ten’s West Coast expansion. Prior to UCLA’s official move, Daily Bruin Sports will preview football, basketball and other top programs of each school.

Football
2023 record: 4-8, 2-7 Big Ten
Coach: Jonathan Smith

Michigan State football reached the pinnacle of its glory between 1951 and 1966, collecting six national championships in the stretch.

Fifty-eight years later, the program is yet to echo similar glory.

The Spartans finished the 2023 season ranked No. 6 in the Big Ten East and tied for the second-lowest record of any team in the Big Ten that year.

But 2024 will look different.

Michigan State named Smith as head coach last November after a six-year tenure as Oregon State’s head coach. At Oregon State, Smith was named the 2022 Pac-12 Co-Coach of the Year and led the Beavers to three straight bowl appearances.

Joe Rossi – another addition to the coaching staff – brings 12 years of Big Ten experience as the team’s new defensive coordinator. Following defensive linemen Derrick Harmon’s and Simeon Barrow’s departure, Rossi’s ability to rebuild his roster could be pivotal.

As Smith approaches his first full season at the Spartans’ helm, he has tackled recruiting head-on. Michigan State’s 2024 recruiting class, which includes 21 new additions to its roster, is ranked No. 42 in the nation and No. 13 in the conference.

Former Oregon State quarterback Aidan Chiles joined Smith in committing to Michigan State. The former four-star recruit was the No. 2 transfer quarterback during the offseason, swiftly finding his footing at Michigan State during the 2024 spring season.

Wide receiver Nick Marsh, a four-star recruit making his Spartan debut this year, leads the incoming class that has the ability to revamp a once-dominant program.

Smith will enter his first year in the Big Ten with high expectations on his shoulders after his work at Oregon State.

Men’s basketball
2024-2025 record: 20-15, 10-10 Big Ten
Coach: Tom Izzo

Izzo is entering his 29th year as Michigan State men’s basketball’s head coach and his 42nd year on the program’s coaching staff. In 2000, he spearheaded the team to its second-ever NCAA championship.

However, since 2019, Michigan State has inched further and further away from a national championship.

Michigan State fell to North Carolina 85-69 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

The year before, the Spartans advanced to the Sweet Sixteen.

In 2019, they celebrated a trip to the Final Four.

Ahead of next season, the Spartans will need to solidify their core and integrate the new crop.

The squad lost six players after last season, including guard Tyson Walker, forward Malik Hall and guard A.J. Hoggard – the three of whom led the Spartans in minutes per game in 2023-2024. Walker slotted in as No. 1 on Michigan State in 3-pointers, field goals and steals.

The starting lineup is undergoing renovation ahead of the 2024-2025 season.

With Hoggard and Walker out of the picture, guard Tre Holloman – an integral two-way player for the Spartans – will have to strengthen his mettle with increased time on the court.

Guard Jaden Akins took major strides during his junior season, averaging 10.4 points per game to lead all returning players – and has the experience to help stabilize what will be a relatively novel roster.

Alongside Akins, guard Jeremy Fears Jr. is also expected to make a full return after his freshman campaign was cut short because of injury. Despite missing the last 23 games of the season, Fears totaled the fourth-most steals on the team, behind only his upperclassman counterparts.

Izzo will welcome three freshmen to his squad, including 6-foot-11 forward Jesse McCulloch. While none of the six are expected to enter the starting lineup, the added depth strengthens the Spartans’ bench.

Michigan State will plow through a significant roster turnover and question marks around the potential of its returners.

Gymnastics
2024 record: 29-7, 9-0 Big Ten
Coach: Mike Rowe

The Spartans were undefeated in the Big Ten in 2023, topping their regular season with the program’s first-ever Big Ten championship title.

Michigan State sets itself apart from the rest of the Big Ten on vault, where it finished last season ranked No. 4 on the event with four 10.0 start value vaults.

Above the existing vault talent, incoming freshmen Amy Doyle and Cady Duplissis both competed 10.0 start value vaults in high school and can place Michigan State in the same league as programs such as Oklahoma, which consistently showcase six 10.0 vaults in a meet.

Returners Sage Kellerman and Nikki Smith received perfect scores on vault last season, with the former’s coming at the very first meet of the season.

Six seniors graduated from Michigan State in 2024 – including Jori Jackard, who notched a perfect score on bars during her fourth season with the Spartans.

Rowe will welcome back two graduate students – Giana Kalefe and Delanie Harkness. Harkness became a 9.9-plus machine on bars, beam and floor – notching three straight 9.950s on bars during the 2023 season.

Kalefe will continue to contribute on beam, where she has been a mainstay in the lineups for the past three seasons.

The Spartans finished the 2021 season ranked No. 55, but Skyla Schulte – who has been a staple all-arounder for the Spartans for the past three years – and other returners led their team to a ninth-place ranking at the end of 2022. Schulte helped elevate the program’s legacy by putting the Spartans in legitimate contention for a national title that season.

With the tools well-placed in its box, Michigan State has the opportunity to make it to NCAA national championship for the first time – the only piece of the trio missing from the program’s repertoire.