Michigan State commit Carlos Medlock Jr. jumps in new recruiting rankings

Michigan State commit Carlos Medlock Jr. received a massive rankings bump in the latest 247Sports update for the 2026 class.

The first addition to Michigan State’s 2026 basketball recruiting class just proved everyone right from when he committed to the Spartans over the summer. Everyone said Carlos Medlock Jr. was underrated in July when he called Tom Izzo with his verbal commitment.

The industry itself agreed, with Medlock moving up 31 spots in the newest 247Sports rankings, from 98th to 67th.

The seventh-ranked point guard in the class may be a bit undersized, but Adam Finkelstein of 247Sports says that Medlock is “extremely talented and creative with the ball”.  He even goes on to mention Medlock being “completely in control of the game at full speed”.

The Link Academy product, by way of Michigan, is exactly the type of guard Izzo loves. A small dasher who can split screens at will, and dominates the game with his ball-handling. His smaller size makes him as a pest on the defensive side of the ball, sticking like a thorn in the opposing team’s rotations.

Medlock’s offer list does not indicate much, with Michigan, Creighton, and Iowa being his other big offers, but Michigan State’s big push for him right off the bat truly showed the Spartans’ intents with Medlock being the next big-name leader for the green and white.

His relationship with Izzo is one to be certain in the ever-changing world of college basketball. When talking about his future coach, Medlock stated that Izzo keeps it real during an interview with Justin Thind of 247Sports. Subscribe to 247Sports to read the entire thing (it’s great).

Something else to monitor is Izzo’s newly-attempted pipeline to Link Academy, the school Medlock currently plays for. Shortly after Medlock committed, Izzo and his staff offered five-star center Ethan Taylor and four-star center Tristian Reed of Link Academy. If Medlock is to become the leader we all expect him to be, the 5-foot-11, 165-pound hooper will be crucial in securing more commitments for the rest of the class, especially from his current teammates.