Tom Izzo is adding a veteran guard to fill out the Michigan State backcourt following offseason attrition.
Trey Fort, a well-traveled senior from Samford, committed to the Spartans on Friday, he announced on social media, following a visit to campus this week. He is the second transfer pickup for the Spartans in the last week, following Florida Atlantic sophomore forward Kaleb Glenn. Counting a pair of junior colleges, Michigan State will be Fort’s sixth school in as many years.
Izzo got an up-close look at both Fort and Glenn this season as Florida Atlantic and Samford lost against the Spartans in East Lansing during nonconference play.
Fort, 6-foot-4 and 200 pounds, averaged a team-high 14.6 points to go with 3.9 rebounds while shooting 37.9 percent from 3-point range this season.
A native of Florence, Miss., Fort began his college career at UT Martin by averaging 2.6 points in 11 games during the 2020-21 season. He spent the next two years at a pair of JUCO programs – Copiah-Lincoln Community College in Mississippi and then Howard College in Texas – before posting 5.0 points per game at Mississippi State in 2023-24, then transferring to Samford. Fort had four points on 1-for-8 shooting from the floor in Samford’s 83-75 loss in East Lansing in November.
Michigan State won 30 games and a Big Ten regular-season title before an Elite Eight loss to Auburn on March 30. The Spartans have since lost seven players from that squad. Three are out of eligibility in guard Jaden Akins, forward Frankie Fidler and center Szymon Zapala. Star freshman guard Jase Richardson declared for the NBA draft while guard Tre Holloman (committed to NC State), forward Xavier Booker (UCLA) and guard Gehrig Normand all entered the portal.
Those departures mean starting point guard Jeremy Fears is the only returner from a regular four-deep backcourt rotation. The Spartans have a pair of incoming recruits in four-star wings Jordan Scott and Cam Ward and Izzo could hit the portal for a backup to Fears.
