Tom Izzo checks in 4-star Mateen Cleaves Jr., according to a report

[ASFN Admin]

Arguably the most iconic player of the Tom Izzo tenure at Michigan State, Mateen Cleaves led Izzo and the Spartans to a national championship in 2000. Now, the time has passed, and it is Mateen Cleaves Jr.'s time to be recruited to play college basketball.

Naturally, Izzo and the Spartans are a top contender for Cleaves Jr., but nothing is a sure thing in the NIL era of recruiting in college athletics. The Orchard Lake (MI) native is now playing at Dream City Christian in Arizona, where he is prepping for his college career. Right now, the 6-foot-4 wing is ranked as a 4-star prospect and the No. 41 overall prospect in the 2028 recruiting class according to the 247Sports composite rankings.

According to On3's Joe Tipton, Izzo was checking in on the Spartan legacy prospect, watching him live at a recent camp.

As of now, Rutgers is Cleaves Jr.'s only reported offer, but the Spartans are almost assuredly going to enter the mix.

Recruiting Buzz from the NBPA Top-100 Camp

️ Purdue building momentum with PG target
️ Indiana emerging as a team to monitor closely for a 6-9 forward
️ Izzo checks in on Mateen Cleaves Jr.
️Plus the latest on several top-100 prospects and their recruitments.

View:… pic.twitter.com/gjK9Sz3A0O

— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) June 12, 2026

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This article originally appeared on Spartans Wire: Tom Izzo checks in 4-star Mateen Cleaves Jr., according to a report

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