Class of 2026 three-star safety Brayden Thomas has had a change of heart, as he has flipped his commitment to Michigan State from Iowa State on Monday.
Thomas, who currently attends St. Edward High School in Lakewood, Ohio, had been committed to the Cyclones since early February.
Thomas is coming off of an official visit to MSU over the weekend of May 30 through June 2. Immediately following the trip, Thomas told Spartans Illustrated that he was still committed to Iowa State and that he still planned to visit Ames for an official visit during the weekend of June 6 through June 8. He will no longer take that visit, or any other visits.
After further reflection, Thomas knew that Michigan State was the right program for him. He envisions himself playing under head coach Jonathan Smith, defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Joe Rossi, secondary coach Blue Adams, safeties coach James Adams and the rest of the staff.
Thomas believes in the direction of the program under Smith.
"I just fell in love with everything from the school to the coaches and the current players, and Coach Smith's vision to turn this place around (was a big factor)," Thomas told Spartans Illustrated when discussing why he chose to flip to MSU.
Thomas has great relationships with Smith, safeties coach James Adams and many other coaches on staff. His connection with his future position coach was one of the deciding factors in Thomas' decision to commit to the Spartans.
"I have a great relationship with all the coaches, and I would say me and Coach (James) Adams have the best relationship with him being my (position) coach, but I definitely felt the love from all the coaches going into the week," Thomas told Spartans Illustrated after the official visit to MSU. "I had a good amount of coaches texting me saying they couldn’t wait to get me out there, so that really made me feel like a top priority for them."
The Spartans like Thomas' versatility in the secondary, as he can play either safety spot (free safety and strong safety) or nickel back. The current plan is for Thomas to start out at the strong safety position.
He was hosted on his official visit by Michigan State true freshman wide receiver and fellow Ohio native Braylon Collier. The two were already familair with each other, but built a stronger bond over the weekend.
While it came down to Michigan State and Iowa State, Thomas also garnered scholarship offers from Akron, Bowling Green, Buffalo, Colorado State, Eastern Michigan, James Madison, Kent State, Massachusetts, Miami (OH), Sacramento State, Toledo and Youngstown State.
Now that he is part of the class, Thomas has already put his recruiting hat on and plans to help the Spartans bring in more players in the 2026 class.
"I've already started recruiting, and I've got a couple people (I'm targeting)," Thomas said. "I think we are going to skyrocket on a lot of people’s recruiting class rankings and be one of the best classes to come in."
With Thomas' pledge, that makes two commitments thus far for Michigan State coming out of the first major official visitor weekend of the season. Thomas joins three-star linebacker Braylon Hodge from that group, as Hodge committed to the Spartans on Sunday.
Overall, Michigan State's 2026 class grows to six commitments from scholarship players: Thomas, Hodge, four-star quarterback Kayd Coffman, four-star tight end Eddie Whiting, three-star tight end Joey Caudill and three-star offensive lineman Eli Bickel. Additionally, MSU has a pledge from preferred walk-on 2026 athlete commit Jack Lansing III.
Thomas looks forward to joining the Spartans in the future and is ready to put his own recruiting process behind him and focus on his senior season at St. Edward, along with helping Michigan State on the trail.
"Spartan Nation, I’m home," Thomas said with excitement. "Go Green!
- QB
- TE
- EDGE
- DE
- OT
- OT
- CB
- LB
- DE
- S
