Michigan State hockey lands elite defenseman in the transfer portal

Michigan State hockey has landed its second top transfer in the portal, and this time, it is a defenseman.

Former St. Cloud State defenseman Colin Ralph will be joining Michigan State and should be one of the top defenders for Michigan State next year. Ralph, a second-round pick for the St. Louis Blues, is a 6-foot-5 physical defenseman.

Michigan State hockey lands St. Cloud State transfer defenseman Colin Ralph.

One of the top portal defensemen with three years of eligibility. 2nd round pick by St. Louis in 2024 draft. Big body at 6-5, 227 and had one goal and seven assists last season.

— Nathaniel Bott (@Nathaniel_Bott) April 5, 2025

According to Spartan Shadows writer Chris Norman, “He is massive and will be a huge addition to help stabilize the defense.”

Even with Ralph being a newcomer, he won’t come in without playing with someone at Michigan State. He was a defenseman with Trey Augustine on Team USA. This connection and his size should be able to help this team next year, especially after a few defensemen left from this past year. With this connection, he should be able to step in and contribute to this team, especially after how he played last year and the years of eligibility he has left.

During this past season, Ralph had eight points and was a big part of the defense that St. Cloud State played. With just playing one year at St. Cloud State, he will have three years of eligibility and has the potential to develop into a really good defenseman for Michigan State and for the St. Louis Blues in the near future.

Adam Nightingale may have just experienced one of the toughest losses of his career to Cornell to end the Spartans’ 2024-25 season early, but he’s already working to make sure something like that doesn’t happen again.

The roster building of the third-year Michigan State hockey coach has been impressive as top talent continues to flock to East Lansing.