Michigan State coach Jonathan Smith envisions a busy December portal recruiting season

East Lansing, Mich. – When Jonathan Smith took over as head coach at Michigan State a year ago, he envisioned a program built upon a foundation of four-year players, using the transfer portal as needed to supplement his roster.

During his second signing day press conference as head coach of the Spartans, Smith admitted that his initial vision for roster building may be less feasible.

“Where this landscape continues to go, it is probably going to be closer to this 50/50 mark,” Smith said during his signing day press conference on Wednesday. “Early on, I still like the idea of the majority high school, and you supplement through the portal, but with so much (roster) movement and player freedom to move, I don’t think we have to get to 50/50, but I just think that might be a reality.”

Smith did not, however, bemoan the fact that Michigan State will be more reliant on transfer portal players than he first anticipated. The 50/50 split between high school recruits and transfers, according to Smith, is an efficient way to build a winning program. Signing a large transfer class on a year basis, however, does not mean that Smith and his staff need to lower standards their standards when it comes to character. Michigan State will continue to prioritize growth-mindset individual whether they are four-year recruits or portal additions.

Michigan State signed 18 high school prospects in December. Eleven of those high school signees will enroll in January.

“Really pleased with where he landed today,” Smith said. “It’s one piece of the puzzle in putting your roster together, but it’s an important one no doubt. You can build your team throughout the year now. Signing day in high school is a really important part.”

The Spartans could potentially add more high school prospects during the late signing period. Moving forward, however, transfer portal recruiting will take center stage for Smith and his staff when the transfer portal opens on December 9 and will close on December 28.

Many of the transfer portal players that commit to Michigan State during December period will enroll in January, along with the 11 mid-year enrollees in Smith’s high school class.

Smith was pleased with the level of performance Michigan State received from a strong portal class in year one of the building process. Coming from Oregon State, Smith was aware of what Aidan Chiles, Jack Velling and Tanner Miller were capable of. But Smith was also pleased the play of Jordan Turner, Nikai Martinez, Ed Woods, Luke Newman, D’Quan Douse, Wayne Matthews, and Anthony Jones among others.

“I’ve got some confidence, and this is a big month to add,” said Smith referencing the direction of the Michigan State program. “If we can add and have our hit rate like we did last year, and then have our current guys, young talent or maybe guys heading into their last year, we’ve all got to take a step and improve. Include the coaches in that.”

Smith believes that Michigan State’s 2025 recruiting should be evaluated on the basis of the finished product, and not just the average rank of his high school signees. He does, however, acknowledge that the Spartans would like to sign more blue-chip talent moving forward if possible, if those individuals are a good fit for the program.

“We will trust our evaluations, and there are some four and five star talent that we would love to have and we think would fit,” Smith said. “We would like to get a few more of those if they truly fit our place. With the landscape of how it is going, I don’t know if it is as vital to win a championship, just because you can add to your roster in different ways than in years past.”

Whether Michigan State effectively addresses its recruiting needs for the current cycle will depend largely on whether the Spartans can replicate the success they had in portal recruiting last winter, for a second year in a row.