Big Ten Men's Basketball: Michigan State’s Fears named Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year
ROSEMONT, Ill. – Michigan State junior guard Jeremy Fears Jr. has been named 2026-27 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year, as chosen by a select media panel, the conference announced on Monday.
Last season, Fears was the only player in the country to average 15.0 points and 9.0 assists, posting a team-high 15.2 points while leading the nation with 9.4 assists. The Joliet, Ill. native also ranked second in the country with 328 total assists, setting a new Michigan State record for assists in a season. Fears also broke the Spartans’ NCAA Tournament single game assist mark with 16 dimes in a 77-69 second round win over Louisville, breaking the single-game record of 14 set by Earvin Johnson on March 16, 1978 against Western Kentucky.
Fears collected five All-America honors after scoring in double figures 28 of 35 games, leading the team in scoring 13 times, and tallying nine games with at least 20 points and one with at least 30 points. Fears led the Spartans in assists in all 35 games, while handing out at least 10 assists 15 times and posting 11 double-doubles in points and assists.
The media panel also selected a 10-member Preseason All-Big Ten Team. Nine of the Big Ten’s 18 teams are represented on the team, with Fears and Nebraska senior Pryce Sandfort named as unanimous selections.
Fears and Sandfort joined by Illinois’ David Mirkovic and Andrej Stojakovic, Maryland’s Pharrel Payne, Michigan’s Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney, Ohio State’s John Mobley Jr., UCLA’s Trent Perry, USC’s Rodney Rice, and Wisconsin’s Nolan Winter.
The league’s coaches named Fears and Sandfort to the All-Big Ten First Team honors following the 2025-26 season, while Mirkovic received honorable mention and earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team. Fears also claimed First Team honors from the media, while Sandfort earned Second Team accolades. Cadeau, Mirkovic, and Mobley also received honorable mention form the media.
The 2026-27 Preseason All-Big Ten Team can be found below.
• 2026-27 Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year
Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State
• 2026-27 Preseason All-Big Ten Team*
David Mirkovic, Illinois
Andrej Stojakovic, Illinois
Pharrell Payne, Maryland
Elliot Cadeau, Michigan
Trey McKenney, Michigan
JEREMY FEARS Jr., Michigan State
PRYCE SANDFORT, Nebraska
John Mobley Jr., Ohio State
Trent Perry, UCLA
Rodney Rice, USC
Nolan Winter, Wisconsin
Unanimous selection listed in ALL CAPS
*Extra player due to a tie in voting
• The Big Ten Conference is an association of world-class universities whose member institutions share a common mission of research, graduate, professional and undergraduate teaching and public service. Founded in 1896, the Big Ten has sustained a comprehensive set of shared practices and policies that enforce the priority of academics in the lives of students competing in intercollegiate athletics and emphasize the values of integrity, fairness and competitiveness. The Big Ten Conference sponsors 28 official sports, 14 for men and 14 for women, and the broad-based programs of the 18 Big Ten institutions provide direct financial support for more than 14,000 student-athletes. For more information, visit BigTen.org.