Michigan State basketball has landed one of the top guards in the 2026 recruiting class, and he hails from Michigan.
Four-star point guard Carlos Medlock Jr. confirmed to the Free Press he committed to Michigan State on Friday, July 25. Medlock previously played for Wayne Memorial, where he helped lead the Zebras to their first-ever Division 1 championship game appearance, before transferring to Link Academy in Missouri for his senior season.
Medlock, rated as the No. 118th overall recruit and 10th-best point guard in 2026 according to the 247Sports composite rankings, is Michigan State’s first commitment in the 2026 class.
Michigan State has been recruiting Medlock since his freshman season, and extended him an offer this summer following his standout junior season, which earned him Dream Team honors.
“They’ve been with me all the way through my senior year,” Medlock said Friday. “That’s a real big thing to me. They made me feel comfortable there since I stepped on campus. My family feels comfortable. It’s a good environment to be around.”
The opportunity to play for a Hall of Fame coach in Tom Izzo was another selling point for Medlock. Izzo’s no-nonsense coaching style reminds him of his high school coach at Wayne, Steve Brooks.
“He’s not going to take a step back,” Medlock said. “He’s always going to push you to be great. I love that.”
He chose MSU over Michigan and Tennessee.
Medlock said the family aspect of MSU’s program was the biggest selling point, along with the chance to be able to stand out versus other programs like Michigan, which is more “portal-heavy” in Medlock’s words.
“I want to be able to stand out,” Medlock said. “I feel like Michigan State was the best fit for me.”
Medlock, listed at 5 feet 11, is a dynamic scorer who averaged 24.9 points and 4.8 assists per game as a junior for Wayne. In the state playoffs, he scored 30 points in a tight battle with U-D Jesuit, followed by scoring 29 against Flint Carman-Ainsworth in the state semifinals, before Wayne lost to East Lansing in the championship at the Breslin Center.
Wayne finished the season 25-3.
Even though he won’t finish his high school career in-state, he will begin his collegiate career playing close to home in East Lansing.
“It’s definitely a blessing,” Medlock said. “Not a lot of people get to have an opportunity to play at a high-major and stay home. It’s a good thing. My family can come out, they don’t have to see me on TV just to watch me play. They could actually come to the game and be there for me.”
Jared Ramsey covers high school sports for the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jramsey@freepress.com; Follow Jared on X or Bluesky.