Michigan State University Athletics
Spartans Announce 2026 Captains
8/24/2026 6:46:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Michigan State football has announced six team captains for the 2026 season, as voted on by their teammates.
The six team captains are junior punter Rhys Dakin, fifth-year center Trent Fraley, senior linebacker Jordan Hall, fifth-year safety Nikai Martinez, redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic and fifth-year rush end Kenny Soares Jr.
The six captains tie the 1998 team for the most on a Spartan team.
"It was voted on by the team, and everybody was eligible to be elected a captain," said first-year MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald. "So that's viewed upon as the highest honor you could have as a Spartan. I look forward to working with those guys as the core leadership of our football team, along with our Unity Council, and frankly the rest of the team.
"Kenny Soares Jr. addressed the team this morning as we introduced the group for the first time – (he said) that it's just not that group, it's upon everybody, and everybody's in charge of leading the team by leading yourself first. I think this group is really understanding the direction we want to go, but really happy for this group. It just seemed like the right group, and so that's why I went to six. Sometimes it's been four, sometimes it's been five. This may be my first time having six, but it just was the right six guys, I would say, based on the vote."
Hall becomes the first Spartan linebacker to be named a captain in back-to-back years since Joe Bachie (2018-19). Hall's position coach, Max Bullough, was also a two-time captain for the Spartans (2012-13).
A native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Hall has been named to preseason watch lists for the Bednarik Award (nation's best defensive player), Butkus Award (nation's top linebacker) and the Wuerffel Trophy (premier community service award in college football). Hall was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick last season after ranking first on the team and 11th in the Big Ten during the regular season with a career-high 88 tackles, including 4.5 for losses with 2.5 sacks. He has collected 179 tackles, 13 TFLs and seven sacks over the course of his 35 games at Michigan State.
Martinez, who only played in four games last season due to injuries, is back for his third season with the Spartans in 2026. He started all 12 games at safety in 2024 and ranked third on the team with 51 tackles.
Milivojevic started the last four games of the season at quarterback in 2025 for Michigan State. Over the course of nine total games, he completed 64 percent of his passes (111-of-173) for 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the last game of the season, a win over Maryland at Ford Field, Milivojevic was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after completing 27-of-39 passes for 292 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.
Hall, Martinez and Milivojevic all represented the Spartans at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago on July 29.
Dakin, Fraley and Soares joined the program in January after transferring to Michigan State.
A two-year starter at Iowa, Dakin was a Freshman All-American for the Hawkeyes in 2024 and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten plaudits as a sophomore in 2025 after averaging 43.6 yards per punt, including 18 inside the 20.
Fraley won the Rimington Award as the nation's best center in the FCS last season at North Dakota State. The first-team All-American started all 13 games for the Bison and also started all 16 games in 2024 as NDSU won the FCS National Championship. He was named to preseason All-Big Ten teams by Phil Steele (second team) and The Athletic (third team).
Soares played for head coach Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern during the 2022 season and spent three seasons overall (2022-24) with the Wildcats. After transferring to North Carolina State in 2025, Soares recorded a career-high 80 tackles, second most on the Wolfpack, and played in all 13 games, including starting assignments the last eight games in a row at middle linebacker. A native of Trumbull, Connecticut, Soares has played in 41 career games and is shifting back to rush end for the Spartans this season. He was voted by his teammates prior to preseason camp to wear the No. 1 jersey for the Spartans in 2026.
Michigan State opens the 2026 season on Friday, Sept. 4 against Toledo in Spartan Stadium at 8 p.m. on FS1.
The six team captains are junior punter Rhys Dakin, fifth-year center Trent Fraley, senior linebacker Jordan Hall, fifth-year safety Nikai Martinez, redshirt sophomore quarterback Alessio Milivojevic and fifth-year rush end Kenny Soares Jr.
The six captains tie the 1998 team for the most on a Spartan team.
"It was voted on by the team, and everybody was eligible to be elected a captain," said first-year MSU head coach Pat Fitzgerald. "So that's viewed upon as the highest honor you could have as a Spartan. I look forward to working with those guys as the core leadership of our football team, along with our Unity Council, and frankly the rest of the team.
"Kenny Soares Jr. addressed the team this morning as we introduced the group for the first time – (he said) that it's just not that group, it's upon everybody, and everybody's in charge of leading the team by leading yourself first. I think this group is really understanding the direction we want to go, but really happy for this group. It just seemed like the right group, and so that's why I went to six. Sometimes it's been four, sometimes it's been five. This may be my first time having six, but it just was the right six guys, I would say, based on the vote."
Hall becomes the first Spartan linebacker to be named a captain in back-to-back years since Joe Bachie (2018-19). Hall's position coach, Max Bullough, was also a two-time captain for the Spartans (2012-13).
A native of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Hall has been named to preseason watch lists for the Bednarik Award (nation's best defensive player), Butkus Award (nation's top linebacker) and the Wuerffel Trophy (premier community service award in college football). Hall was an honorable mention All-Big Ten pick last season after ranking first on the team and 11th in the Big Ten during the regular season with a career-high 88 tackles, including 4.5 for losses with 2.5 sacks. He has collected 179 tackles, 13 TFLs and seven sacks over the course of his 35 games at Michigan State.
Martinez, who only played in four games last season due to injuries, is back for his third season with the Spartans in 2026. He started all 12 games at safety in 2024 and ranked third on the team with 51 tackles.
Milivojevic started the last four games of the season at quarterback in 2025 for Michigan State. Over the course of nine total games, he completed 64 percent of his passes (111-of-173) for 1,267 yards and 10 touchdowns. In the last game of the season, a win over Maryland at Ford Field, Milivojevic was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after completing 27-of-39 passes for 292 yards and a career-high four touchdowns.
Hall, Martinez and Milivojevic all represented the Spartans at Big Ten Media Days in Chicago on July 29.
Dakin, Fraley and Soares joined the program in January after transferring to Michigan State.
A two-year starter at Iowa, Dakin was a Freshman All-American for the Hawkeyes in 2024 and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten plaudits as a sophomore in 2025 after averaging 43.6 yards per punt, including 18 inside the 20.
Fraley won the Rimington Award as the nation's best center in the FCS last season at North Dakota State. The first-team All-American started all 13 games for the Bison and also started all 16 games in 2024 as NDSU won the FCS National Championship. He was named to preseason All-Big Ten teams by Phil Steele (second team) and The Athletic (third team).
Soares played for head coach Pat Fitzgerald at Northwestern during the 2022 season and spent three seasons overall (2022-24) with the Wildcats. After transferring to North Carolina State in 2025, Soares recorded a career-high 80 tackles, second most on the Wolfpack, and played in all 13 games, including starting assignments the last eight games in a row at middle linebacker. A native of Trumbull, Connecticut, Soares has played in 41 career games and is shifting back to rush end for the Spartans this season. He was voted by his teammates prior to preseason camp to wear the No. 1 jersey for the Spartans in 2026.
Michigan State opens the 2026 season on Friday, Sept. 4 against Toledo in Spartan Stadium at 8 p.m. on FS1.
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