EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan State point guard Jeremy Fears Jr. came within a single vote of a clean sweep Wednesday, leading the national preseason All-America team for the 2026-27 college basketball season.
Fears appeared on 57 of the 58 ballots cast by the national media panel. Florida forward Thomas Haugh was next with 56 votes. Rounding out the five were Vanderbilt’s Tyler Tanner, Illinois big man David Mirkovic and Arizona’s Motiejus Krivas, who took the last spot with 17 votes.
The honor caps a busy preseason for the Spartans’ floor leader. Fears had already been chosen the Big Ten’s preseason Player of the Year and landed on the league’s preseason all-conference squad, and this marks his fourth preseason award of the fall.
His numbers last winter explain the attention. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-2 Joliet, Illinois, native put up 15.2 points a night while his 9.4 assists per game were the best in the country, earning second-team All-America and first-team All-Big Ten recognition as Michigan State reached the Sweet 16.
Fears put his name into the NBA draft process after that season before pulling out, keeping two years of college eligibility. His return, along with a deep roster, has the Spartans ranked sixth in the preseason national rankings as they chase the program’s first national title in 27 years.
All five players on the team are back at the same schools they played for last season, a notable twist in an era dominated by transfers.
Michigan State wraps up its exhibition schedule Sunday, Oct. 25, with a 1 p.m. game at Marquette.
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