EAST LANSING- Coming off a third-place finish in the Big Ten last season, the Michigan State Spartans look to replicate success with new faces; while also having veterans to lead the way.
Seven incoming freshmen join Spartan head coach Damon Rensing
In the offseason, Rensing and his staff have been preparing for seven new freshmen to join the team.
#3 Jared Smid: 6’0 midfielder from Madison, Ala.
#5 Brandon Munson: 5’10 defenseman from Spring Hill, Fla.
#9 Mohamed Saad: 6’2 forward from Madison Heights, Mich.
#15 Oscar Huerta: Forward from Melvindale, Mich.
#28 Jake Grekowicz: 6’3 goalkeeper from Rochester, Mich.
#13 Myles Foster: (Redshirt freshman) 6’3 defenseman from East Lansing, Mich.
#32 Alec Laible: (Redshirt freshman) 6’3 goalkeeper from Baden-Württemberg, Germany
Stars returning for Rensing
Not only are new faces coming into the Spartan roster, but many returning athletes are looking to build off a 7-2-7 record in 2023, along with an impressive 3-1-4 conference record.
Rising senior from Sligo, Ireland, Sean Kerrigan will look to build off an impressive debut junior year in the green and white.
The midfielder led the team in points in 2023, with six goals. Kerrigan also had the most penalty kicks, attempting six while finding the back of the net five times. Kerrigan also played heroics for MSU all season in 2023, with four game-winning goals.
Following Kerrigan is Jonathan Stout. The rising junior finished second on the team in points in 2023 as he was able to notch five-goals with 10 shots on goal.
One of those goals propelled MSU to victory as Stout had the game-winning goal against Army on September 1. In 2023 the Spartan forward earned first-team All-Big Ten honors.
Rising juniors Jake Spadafora and Jeremy Sharp will also be big leaders for Rensing in the 2024 incoming season.
Spadafora had three goals in the 2023 season, while also leading the team with 31 shots. The Northville native earned second-team All-Big Ten honors for his 2023 success.
As for Sharp, he led the Spartans with five assists in the 2023 season, which also placed him fourth in the Big Ten. The junior defenseman was able to find one goal on 10 shots on goal as well.
A steel wall returning in front of the net
A massive part of Rensing’s era and the Spartans success in 2023 was the play of Zac Kelly.
The redshirt junior returns for the 2024 season with hopes of having a replicate year of the 2022 season. Kelly was able to notch five shutouts last season, with 62 saves and a .805 save percentage.
The Holt native finished third in the Big Ten in goals against average (0.94) while also leading the conference in saves per game (3.88).
Looking ahead
Michigan State will open exhibition play on August 12 with an exhibition against Butler, and will begin regular season play against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville on August 22 in Illinois.
Michigan State will see the pitch at DeMartin Stadium for the first time on August 26 when they host Bowling Green.
After a 3-1-4 conference record last year, the Spartans will have their first chance to start with clean record when they open conference play against Washington at DeMartin on September 13.
