Michigan State University Athletics
Wednesday, October 28
East Lansing, Mich.
6:30 PM
Michigan State University
vs
Michigan Tech (Exhibition)
10/27/2026 4:24:00 PM | Women's Basketball
This is the second-straight season the teams have met.
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State women's basketball open's the 2026-27 season with its only exhibition against Michigan Tech on Wednesday, Oct. 28 at 6:30 p.m. This is the second-straight season that the Spartans and the Huskies have met in an exhibition. The fourth season of the Robyn Fralick era begins Wednesday in the Breslin Center. MSU ended last season with a 23-9 record reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Liam Chudler and Joshua Lee will be on the call for B1G+.
• Michigan Tech is a very familiar team for several Spartan assistants. Both associate head coach Kim Cameron and assistant coach Maria Kasza are both graduates of Michigan Tech. Cameron was the head coach of the Huskies for eight season.
• Eric Gruber begins his first season at the helm of the Huskies. Last season, Michigan Tech ended the season 16-13 overall and 10-10 in the GLIAC. The Huskies were picked to finish seventh in the GLIAC.
• The Spartans will have nine new players on the squad this season, but they will also return a pair of All-Big Ten returners. Junior guard Kennedy Blair and graduate guard will both be back in the lineup this season. Hallock missed much of last season due to injury.
• Kennedy Blair was tabbed to the 2027 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and WBCA Preseason Watch List for the Nancy Lieberman Award. Blair was a Second-Team All-Big Ten honoree last year after finishing fourth in the B1G in assists last season, dishing out 5.2 assists per game.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN TECH
Alyssa Wypych is the top returning scorer, averaging 11.3 ppg. Soraya Timms also returns after averaging 10.3 ppg. The 2026-27 MTU roster includes nine returners, two transfers, and six freshmen. Huskies were picked to finish seventh in the GLIAC.
Eric Gruber is set to begin his first season at Northern Michigan.
FAMILIAR FACES
Associate head Kim Cameron has a long history with Michigan Tech. She is a 2005 graduate of MTU. The Alpena, Michigan native was a four-year letterwinner.
Cameron spent 13 years coaching at Michigan Tech, including eight years as head coach. During her tenure at MTU, her alma mater, Cameron became the first Division II coach in Tech history to lead the team to a national title game appearance, taking the Huskies to the championship game in 2011.
Assistant coach Maria Kasza also graduate from MTU in 2009. When Cameron was the Michigan Tech head coach, Kasza was assistant coach for five years. During that stretch, MTU made a pair of NCAA Division II Tournament appearances as well as winning a regular-season Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference championship in 2014-15.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE HUSKIES
Last season in an exhibition, MSU came away with a 101-58 win against Michigan Tech on Oct. 22. The Spartans had four in double figures. Grace VanSlooten led the Spartans with 22 points and eight rebounds. Emma Shumate came off the bench to score 20 points going 6-for-8 from 3-point range.
Michigan State and Michigan Tech faced off in an exhibition to kick off the 2015-16 on Nov. 8, 2015. The Spartans came out on top 74-43. Kim Cameron was the head coach of the MTU in that game. Spartan All-American Tori Jankoska led MSU in scoring in that game with 21 points and seven rebounds.
SISTER CONNECTION
Newcomer Anna Wypych will have a family reunion against the Huskies. Her sister, Alyssa is a senior at Michigan Tech. While this will be Anna's first game at the Breslin Center, Alyssa scored 13 points in the exhibition last season.
BRINGING HOME THE GOLD
Last summer, MSU head coach Robyn Fralick won a gold medal as an assistant coach for the USA Women's U18 National Team at the 2026 FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup in Irapuato, Mexico.
BLAIR NAMED TO WATCH LIST
Kennedy Blair was tabbed to the 2027 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and WBCA Preseason Watch List for the Nancy Lieberman Award.
Blair was a Second-Team All-Big Ten honoree last year after finishing fourth in the B1G in assists last season, dishing out 5.2 assists per game. Blair ranks second in the conference among returning point guards back in 2026-27, behind Katie Fiso of Oregon, who was second in the B1G with 6.2 apg.
Additionally, Blair ranked third in the league in steals with 2.4 spg. She led MSU and ranked in the top 20 in the conference in scoring at 14.5 ppg. Blair was also one of two Spartans to start all 32 games. Off the court, Blair earned CSC Academic All-District and Academic All-Big Ten accolades.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame also announced the 2027 Bob Cousy Award for the men's basketball top point guard, and MSU men's basketball redshirt junior guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was one of 20 players selected to the watch list. Michigan State is one of seven teams in the country with a men and women's player on each list, and only one of two Big Ten teams, joined by Michigan, while UConn, Louisville, LSU, Miami and Virginia also had one player on both lists.
INTERNATIONAL SQUAD
The 2026-27 Spartan team has a true international flavor. This season, MSU welcomes Australians junior Tabitha Betson and freshman Monique Bobongie. Betson comes to Michigan State after two years at Colorado. MSU also adds a pair from France in freshmen Kathy-Emma Otto and Emma Broliron. The Spartans also welcome back senior Sara Sambolić from Slovenia and graduate student Isaline Alexander.
LOOKING AT THE SCHEDULE
For the sixth-straight season, the Big Ten Conference will play an 18-game schedule. MSU also played an 18-game schedule in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. The conference additionally had 18-game schedules in both 2015-16 and 2014-15.
The Spartans will face a maximum of 13 opponents that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season, as MSU will possibly playing Virginia Tech in the Emerald Coast Classic. From the Big Ten portion of the schedule, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington reached the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins are the defending NCAA Champions. MSU will also take on Gonzaga at the Acrisure Classic Series in Palm, Springs, California.
• Michigan Tech is a very familiar team for several Spartan assistants. Both associate head coach Kim Cameron and assistant coach Maria Kasza are both graduates of Michigan Tech. Cameron was the head coach of the Huskies for eight season.
• Eric Gruber begins his first season at the helm of the Huskies. Last season, Michigan Tech ended the season 16-13 overall and 10-10 in the GLIAC. The Huskies were picked to finish seventh in the GLIAC.
• The Spartans will have nine new players on the squad this season, but they will also return a pair of All-Big Ten returners. Junior guard Kennedy Blair and graduate guard will both be back in the lineup this season. Hallock missed much of last season due to injury.
• Kennedy Blair was tabbed to the 2027 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and WBCA Preseason Watch List for the Nancy Lieberman Award. Blair was a Second-Team All-Big Ten honoree last year after finishing fourth in the B1G in assists last season, dishing out 5.2 assists per game.
SCOUTING MICHIGAN TECH
Alyssa Wypych is the top returning scorer, averaging 11.3 ppg. Soraya Timms also returns after averaging 10.3 ppg. The 2026-27 MTU roster includes nine returners, two transfers, and six freshmen. Huskies were picked to finish seventh in the GLIAC.
Eric Gruber is set to begin his first season at Northern Michigan.
FAMILIAR FACES
Associate head Kim Cameron has a long history with Michigan Tech. She is a 2005 graduate of MTU. The Alpena, Michigan native was a four-year letterwinner.
Cameron spent 13 years coaching at Michigan Tech, including eight years as head coach. During her tenure at MTU, her alma mater, Cameron became the first Division II coach in Tech history to lead the team to a national title game appearance, taking the Huskies to the championship game in 2011.
Assistant coach Maria Kasza also graduate from MTU in 2009. When Cameron was the Michigan Tech head coach, Kasza was assistant coach for five years. During that stretch, MTU made a pair of NCAA Division II Tournament appearances as well as winning a regular-season Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletics Conference championship in 2014-15.
LAST TIME AGAINST THE HUSKIES
Last season in an exhibition, MSU came away with a 101-58 win against Michigan Tech on Oct. 22. The Spartans had four in double figures. Grace VanSlooten led the Spartans with 22 points and eight rebounds. Emma Shumate came off the bench to score 20 points going 6-for-8 from 3-point range.
Michigan State and Michigan Tech faced off in an exhibition to kick off the 2015-16 on Nov. 8, 2015. The Spartans came out on top 74-43. Kim Cameron was the head coach of the MTU in that game. Spartan All-American Tori Jankoska led MSU in scoring in that game with 21 points and seven rebounds.
SISTER CONNECTION
Newcomer Anna Wypych will have a family reunion against the Huskies. Her sister, Alyssa is a senior at Michigan Tech. While this will be Anna's first game at the Breslin Center, Alyssa scored 13 points in the exhibition last season.
BRINGING HOME THE GOLD
Last summer, MSU head coach Robyn Fralick won a gold medal as an assistant coach for the USA Women's U18 National Team at the 2026 FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup in Irapuato, Mexico.
BLAIR NAMED TO WATCH LIST
Kennedy Blair was tabbed to the 2027 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and WBCA Preseason Watch List for the Nancy Lieberman Award.
Blair was a Second-Team All-Big Ten honoree last year after finishing fourth in the B1G in assists last season, dishing out 5.2 assists per game. Blair ranks second in the conference among returning point guards back in 2026-27, behind Katie Fiso of Oregon, who was second in the B1G with 6.2 apg.
Additionally, Blair ranked third in the league in steals with 2.4 spg. She led MSU and ranked in the top 20 in the conference in scoring at 14.5 ppg. Blair was also one of two Spartans to start all 32 games. Off the court, Blair earned CSC Academic All-District and Academic All-Big Ten accolades.
The Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame also announced the 2027 Bob Cousy Award for the men's basketball top point guard, and MSU men's basketball redshirt junior guard Jeremy Fears Jr. was one of 20 players selected to the watch list. Michigan State is one of seven teams in the country with a men and women's player on each list, and only one of two Big Ten teams, joined by Michigan, while UConn, Louisville, LSU, Miami and Virginia also had one player on both lists.
INTERNATIONAL SQUAD
The 2026-27 Spartan team has a true international flavor. This season, MSU welcomes Australians junior Tabitha Betson and freshman Monique Bobongie. Betson comes to Michigan State after two years at Colorado. MSU also adds a pair from France in freshmen Kathy-Emma Otto and Emma Broliron. The Spartans also welcome back senior Sara Sambolić from Slovenia and graduate student Isaline Alexander.
LOOKING AT THE SCHEDULE
For the sixth-straight season, the Big Ten Conference will play an 18-game schedule. MSU also played an 18-game schedule in both 2018-19 and 2019-20. The conference additionally had 18-game schedules in both 2015-16 and 2014-15.
The Spartans will face a maximum of 13 opponents that competed in the NCAA Tournament last season, as MSU will possibly playing Virginia Tech in the Emerald Coast Classic. From the Big Ten portion of the schedule, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington reached the NCAA Tournament. The Bruins are the defending NCAA Champions. MSU will also take on Gonzaga at the Acrisure Classic Series in Palm, Springs, California.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's BasketballTuesday, September 22
Sunday, March 15
Sunday, March 01
Wednesday, February 18