Michigan State guard AJ Hoggard passes on NBA, will return to school

The good news continues to roll in for the Michigan State basketball program. Guard AJ Hoggard is returning to school, the Spartans announced on Wednesday.

Hoggard was considering leaving early for the NBA draft but will instead stay at Michigan State. He joins Jaden Akins in returning to school after Akins announced earlier Wednesday morning that he would be back.

Hoggard averaged 12.9 points per game last season and led the Spartans with an average of 5.9 assists per game.

The Pennsylvania native signed with Michigan State as a four-star recruit and the No. 74 overall player in the country for the class of 2020, according to the On3 Industry rankings. He chose the Spartans over offers from Connecticut, Louisville and others.

AJ Hoggard was an immediate contributor for Michigan State, appearing in 26 games, with eight starts as a freshman. He averaged 2.5 points, 2 assists and 1.9 rebounds per game that season.

As a sophomore in 2021-22, Hoggard played in 36 games, with eight starts. He made a sizeable jump in production, averaging 7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.

He made another jump this past season, starting 33 of Michigan State’s 34 games. The Spartans appear loaded heading into the 2023-24 season and have a legit shot to get back to the Final 4 this coming season.

More on the 2023 NBA Draft

The 2023 NBA Draft is set to take place on Thursday, June 22, 2023, in Brooklyn at Barclays Center. Round 1 of the draft will be announced by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, while Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum is expected to handle the second round of picks.

To be eligible for the NBA Draft, players must be at least 19 years in age during the calendar year that the draft is held and at least one NBA season from their high school graduation date, or the date that would have been if they are not graduated. It is not required that player spend that one year playing college basketball, though. Players can play in either college, abroad, or the G League Ignite if they choose so.

While this is a significant change from what the rules once were, players are eligible to enter their names into the NBA Draft pool and explore their options by hiring an agent to go through the process, while still keeping their college eligibility. The deadline to make that move was on April 23 beginning at 11:59 p.m. ET. Players have until May 31 at 5 p.m. ET to withdraw their name from the pool and return to college.