Michigan State recruiting targets competing in the adidas 3SSB Palmetto Road Championship in South Carolina have been impressive during the July evaluation period thus far with college coaches watching in-person over the last several days.

Few of those Spartan recruiting targets, however, have been better than in-state guard Carlos Medlock Jr. (2026) who has more than justified summer scholarship offers from both Michigan State and Michigan with is play on the floor with Ohio based Phenom United.

Medlock kept Phenom United alive in the championship bracket of the Palmetto Road Championship with a 34-point performance in an 86-64 win over Team Lillard on Friday with college coaches looking on. He shot the ball well from three in that game, and effectively balanced his role as a scorer with and facilitator.

Prior to facing Team Lillard, Medlock delivered a solid performance scoring 24 points in a 59-55 loss to Dallas-based outfit Southern Assault. Although he didn’t shoot the ball as efficiently as he would have liked inside the 3-point line, Medlock knocked down several perimeter jumpers and supplemented his scoring in the arc with scoring at the free-throw line where he made 11-of-13 for Phenom United in the narrow loss.

Prior to bracket play, Medlock delivered another strong showing with 28 points in a five-point loss to Iowa United, while adding five assists in the 3SSB match-up where he shot 50 percent overall.

Medlock has been the straw that stirs the drink for Phenom United this summer, leading the 3SSB ballclub in scoring with 22 points per game in the regular season, which ranks in the Top 5 among all scorers on the adidas circuit. His strong play is a continuation of what in-state basketball fans saw from Medlock during his junior year at Wayne Memorial High School where he averaged 24.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game last season.

Medlock began the summer as an unranked prospect flying under the radar of national recruiting analysts. Given his level of play this summer, and increased exposure playing with Phenom United and as a transfer to Link Academy, nobody should be surprised when Medlock enjoys a meteoric rise in recruiting rankings as a senior.

Michigan State sitting in solid position with Thompson

Consensus Top 15 prospect Anthony Thompson has been one of the top performers at the adidas 3SSB Championship to the surprise of nobody. The top-ranked player in Ohio for the Class of 2026 has two 30-plus point performances in three games for Indiana Elite in bracket play with wins over Mass Rivals and Nebraska-based ETG Midwest.

Thompson, who is averaging 27.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game in South Carolina will face Latrell Almond-led Team Loaded on Saturday as bracket play continues for adidas 3SSB ballclubs. Almond is another Class of 2026 standout that is firmly on the Michigan State recruiting radar for this cycle.

Thompson included Michigan State in his list of Top 15 programs earlier this summer when he narrowed the scope of his recruitment in late spring,. Several other Big Ten programs, including Ohio State, Michigan, Indiana, and Purdue, also made the cut.  

Thompson listed Michigan State, Michigan, Ohio State, Texas, Kentucky, Auburn, and Louisville among the schools recruiting him the hardest in an article written by Steve Helwagen that was published on Bucknuts after Thompson dropped 35 points on Friday in a bracket-play win over ETG Midwest. In that same article, Thompson referenced Hall of Fame coach Tom Izzo and Michigan State’s track record for sending players to the NBA as selling points for the Spartan program.  

Following the end of the grassroots season, Thompson pare down further the list of college programs under consideration. There are a lot of programs, including Michigan State, working hard to stay on Thompson’s short list.

Collingwood, Almond increasing stock with play at 3SSB Championship

After signing two of the best players from Maryland and Virginia respectively in Cam Ward and Jordan Scott in its 2025 recruiting class, Michigan State has maintained an active recruiting presence in the Washington DC area.

Sidwell Friends High School wing Jalyn Collingwood is one of the regional prospects that Michigan State has been actively evaluating during the grassroots season, and the interest level that the Spartans have shown Collingwood has been more than justified in his play with DC-based New World.

Collingwood and his New World teammates are unbeaten in bracket play in South Carolina with wins over Illinois-based Breakaway Basketball and West Coast-based Compton Magic Elite. Those two wins came after New World posted a 12-point showcase win over Boston Amateur Basketball Club.

Collingwood has shined in bracket play, leading New World in scoring with 19 points in a 70-66 win over Breakaway Basketball. He followed that performance up with 18 points against Compton Magic to set up a Saturday match-up with the Atlanta Celtics.

Collingwood is averaging 18.5 points per game at the 3SSB Championship and shooting 58 percent overall. In those games he is shooting better than 50 percent from three.

Collingwood had offers from Mississippi State and several mid-major programs going into the July evaluation period. His offer list, however, is quickly expanding. This week alone, Collingwood has picked up additional scholarship offers from Oklahoma State, Xavier, Arizona State, and Iowa State.

Collingwood is currently ranked No. 204 in the Class of 2026 in the On3 Industry Ranking. That will likely change, however, if the rising wing continues to impress while playing in front of college coaches.

Michigan State knew all about Collingwood before the start of the evaluation period, so keep an eye on this 6-foot-6 wing as a potential high-ceilinged late riser.

Izzo was on hand to watch the match-up between Top 50 forward Latrell Almond (6-8, 225) and Canadian 7-footer Arafan Diane (6-11, 280), who played prep school basketball in Iowa at United Prep. When Almond and Diane’s teams squared off against one another in South Carolina, the combined firepower of Team Loaded was too much to overcome for Diane-led Iowa United.

Diane, the No. 2 ranked center in the 2026 Class in the On3 Industry Rankings, scored 20 points and added 13 rebounds in the 78-57 loss. He was an efficient 5-for-7 against Team Loaded and scored half his points at the free-throw line.

Almond, who was one of four players from Team Loaded in double figures, scored 18 points and added eight rebounds against Iowan United. He knocked down two threes on five tries.

Michigan State has been in the evaluation phase with Almond for several months. This week he has justified that interest and appears to have a real chance at earning a Spartan offer.

Landrew making the most of evaluation period

Near consensus Top 100 wing Colben Landrew is making the most of the July evaluation period with a strong showing at the adidas 3SSB Championship with Georgia-based Game Elite, which is 2-0 in bracket play and still unbeaten in circuit play this summer.

Through three games at the PRC, Landrew is averaging 18.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting an eye-popping 67.8 percent from the floor and 50 percent from three.

Beyond playing well in bracket play wins over Georgia-based AE5 Premier and Raleigh-based powerhouse Garner Road Elite, Landrew had an impressive showing in a showcase game with 18 points in a 70-51 win over Virginia-based Team Loaded, which is led by Michigan State recruiting target Latrell Almond, the No. 27 ranked prospect in the 2026 On3 Industry Rankings.

Landrew has an impressive offer list including in-state programs Auburn and Alabama as well as more than a dozen other Power Four conference programs.  North Carolina State is the most recent program to offer Landrew.

Top 50 Texas forward Billy White is a 6-foot-8, 175-pound forward with enough potential to gain the notice of several Power Four conference programs including Michigan State. White, who counts offers from Texas A&M, TCU, and SMU among others, had his best game at the 3SSB Championship in the opening game of bracket play against Open Gym Premier, posting a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds. White is averaging 10 points per game in the adidas 3SSB championship.

White is in the process of setting up official visits. He plans to visit Virginia, LSU, Maryland, SMU, TCU, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State among others.