Michigan State has landed some much-needed transfer portal help for its men's basketball program, as forward Frankie Fidler announced his commitment to the Spartans on Tuesday.
Fiddler took an official visit to MSU during the weekend of April 12, and he ultimately decided that East Lansing is where he wants to call his new home.
The University of Nebraska Omaha transfer wing averaged 20.1 points per game, 6.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game as a junior during the 2023-2024 season. He started all 33 games for the Mavericks, and shot 45.2% overall from the field, 35.6% from 3-point distance and 85.4% from the free-throw line.
Fidler scored a season-high 34 points twice this past season, doing so against North Dakota State on Jan. 13 and against North Dakota on March 10. The Mavericks finished the 2023-2024 campaign with a 15-18 record under head coach Chris Crutchfield.
In 93 career games played, including 90 starts, the Bellevue, Nebraska native averaged 16.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Fidler shot 45.4% overall from the floor, 35.4 % from behind the arc and 85.9% on free throws.
The 6-foot-7, 217-pound Fidler was a first-team All-Summit League selection this past season, and earned second team-all conference honors as a sophomore during the 2022-2023 campaign.
In addition to Michigan State, Fidler had reported interest from Wisconsin, Creighton, Indiana, Nebraska, Georgetown, Arizona State, Mississippi and others.
His other listed finalists included the Badgers, Bluejays and Cornhuskers.
Fiddler has one year of college eligibility remaining. He will use it to join head coach Tom Izzo at Michigan State, and play alongside Jaden Akins, Tre Holloman, Xavier Booker, Jeremy Fears Jr., Carson Cooper, Jaxon Kohler, Coen Carr and the rest of the Spartans.
The addition of Fidler most likely means he will primarily play at the three-spot (small forward), allowing Akins to play at the two-position (shooting guard).
Michigan State recently saw center Mady Sissoko enter the transfer portal as a graduate student. Point guard A.J. Hoggard is also not expected to return to East Lansing for a fifth year.
Meanwhile, guard Tyson Walker and forward Malik Hall have exhausted their college eligibility. Guard Davis Smith, who began his career as a walk-on at MSU but was awarded a scholarship ahead of the 2020-2021 season, also has a decision to make regarding a potential fifth year of college basketball at Michigan State or elsewhere.
If all three of Sissoko, Hoggard and Smith move on, and with the addition of Fidler and three incoming freshmen (Jesse McCulloch, Jase Richardson and Kur Teng), Michigan State would still have one scholarship spot available for the 2024-2025 season.
It will be interesting to see if Izzo and his staff will remain active in the transfer portal and look to fill the final scholarship spot available.
For more on Fidler, click here to read David Klein break down Fidler's expected role with MSU, how he fits, and more.
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