With kickoff a mere 11 days away, Michigan State football has reached the end of summer camp as their student athletes gear up for the fall. As a result, one of the last elements is voting on and naming team captains.
The Spartans announced their leaders Monday morning, with a surprising six players all getting the honor, along with Pat Fitzgerald mentioning that at least 10 other players all received double-digit votes.
The captains for Michigan State football in 2026 will be QB Alessio Milivojevic, LB Jordan Hall, S Nikai Martinez, EDGE Kenny Soares Jr., P Rhys Dakin, and IOL Trent Fraley.
The group is split right down the middle, with three returning players and three new faces to the program earning the honor.
Milivojevic, Martinez, and Hall have all earned tons of praise, with the trio getting an invite to Big Ten Media Days to represent Michigan State football, alongside Kenny Soares Jr. getting recognition as “The Spartan,” for his efforts in practice and leading the team, earning the EDGE the No. 1 jersey. Dakin and Fraley, meanwhile, are each higher-touted transfers with great football IQ, leadership, and positive attitudes.
Meet the Captains
Fraley, the textbook definition of “o-lineman,” per Pat Fitzgerald, comes from a football family, with the lineman’s father Hank currently coaching the offensive line for the Detroit Lions. The North Dakota State transfer has seen tons of success, and Alessio Milivojevic was not shy in heaping praise on his center. Fraley becomes the second senior transfer center to earn captaincy for his sole season, following Matt Gulbin, who parlayed his season with MSU to a draft selection with Washington.
Soares Jr. was a surprise to some in earning recognition as “The Spartan,” but has been showcased as a leader of the team. His character and leadership attitude has been put on display during clips, on the field, and off the field. Even during media observation periods of practice, it was normal to see Soares coaching up freshman EDGE Cory House Jr. or pumping up the team before a drill. Even in Soares’s address to the team after being announced as a captain, he was quick to remind the team that it takes everyone to lead.
Dakin, meanwhile, has gotten praise for his ability on the field and his demeanor off the field, with everyone from teammates to LeVar Woods to former teammate Drew Stevens cracking a smile about Dakin when asked at the NFL Combine about his punter.
Hall is the only repeat captain from the 2025 Spartan team, as the other four co-captains are no longer with MSU due to eligibility expiring or transferring elsewhere. For Hall, his second time being a captain is just as special.
“It’s always an honor and a privilege to represent a great group of men,” Hall said. “I’m glad that my teammates viewed me in a way to allow me to lead them.”
Hall credited his parents and uncle for cultivating his leadership skills that formed him into the soul of the team that Spartan fans see on Saturdays.
Martinez was a player who’s leadership caught Fitzgerald by surprise, per the coach himself at Big Ten Media Days. Martinez enters his third season with the Spartans after spending his initial two seasons with Central Florida. The defensive back learned through adversity last season, as he missed eight games and was knocked out a ninth game by halftime due to a collision on field.
Now, he returns to lead the team, with little brother Trevaughn learning from him in the safety room.
Milivojevic has been the de facto leader of the Spartans since taking the starting job for Michigan State football prior to the Minnesota game. The quarterback is the leader by default, but his resilience and ability to fight through pain and adversity has hit home with the Spartan fanbase. Evidently, it, alongside his ability as a teammate, player, and leader, earned him the captainship in what was little shock to those who knew the program.
The quarterback was seen greeting Pat Fitzgerald at his introductory press conference in December, before sitting with the staff as a part of every transfer portal visit as the staff looked to construct a roster for the season. As part of that, he sat in on meetings with three future Spartan football captains. For the quarterback, it was no surprise that Dakin, Fraley, and Soares earned the honor.
“Those three, they came in and asserted themselves as leaders,” Milivojevic said about his meetings with the three during the portal cycle. “They knew what they were doing, they had experience playing big time games at other programs. You could tell right away that those three guys were going to be difference makers. As the year has gone on, they’ve just stepped their game up even more.”
