Former Michigan State forward Xavier Booker announced his plans to transfer to UCLA via his Instagram on Friday.
Booker came to East Lansing as a highly-touted, five-star recruit that was a McDonald’s All-American and was ranked by Rivals as the 16th-best player in the class of 2023, but was unable to play up to the hype he was given.
The Indianapolis, Indiana native averaged 4.3 points and 2.0 rebounds in 11.2 minutes per game during his two seasons with the Spartans.
Booker started the 2024-25 season as one of MSU’s five starters, but got relegated to the bench after just three games and saw his playing time continue to dwindle, seeing only three garbage-time minutes against Bryant during Michigan State’s four-game NCAA Tournament run.
Now, the 6-foot-11 Booker will look for a fresh start out in Los Angeles underneath veteran head coach Mick Cronin. When the UCLA coach saw Booker play in person on Feb. 4, he witnessed him score six points on two-for-five shooting while grabbing three boards and blocking two shots.
The natural storyline that will arise from Booker’s decision is that he will remain in the Big Ten, meaning that he will face his old team next season. Since MSU faced the Bruins on the road this past season, that could mean that Booker and UCLA would travel to East Lansing for that game.
Booker is one of three Michigan State players to enter the transfer portal so far this offseason and is the first to commit to another school. He, Tre Holloman, and Gehrig Normand all announced their departures from the program on Tuesday.
Who Tom Izzo will replace those three players with is not yet certain; MSU currently has four roster spots to fill for next season.
The transfer portal has been open since March 24 and will remain open until April 22. Those in the portal do not need to make a decision as to which school they are transferring to by April 22.
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