Michigan State Star Leaves Tom Izzo After NCAA Tournament Loss
The transfer portal is active right now in NCAA basketball, and Michigan State University has lost one of its key big men.
Xavier Booker, who stands 6-foot-11 and weighs 220 pounds, entered the transfer portal after the Spartans’ loss in the Elite 8 round of the men’s NCAA Tournament to Auburn University. He has now made a decision as far as which school he will play for during the upcoming 2025-26 season.
He will be heading west to suit up for the University of California, Los Angeles Bruins. He will, however, remain in the Big Ten Conference, as UCLA joined the conference last summer after decades in the Pac-12.
Booker, who was born in St. Louis and grew up in Indianapolis, was a big star in high school. He made an appearance in the 2023 McDonald’s All-American Boys Game and was a consensus five-star recruit.
But in two seasons at Michigan State under longtime head coach Tom Izzo, he didn’t produce a whole lot.
He averaged 3.7 points and 1.7 rebounds in 9.3 minutes a game as a freshman, and this season, he didn’t do much better, as he only put up 4.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.8 minutes per game.
