Four-star 2026 center commits to Big Ten Rival over Indiana Basketball

Tom Izzo and the Michigan State Spartans have landed their fourth commitment of the 2026 class, with the No. 2 center in the country, Ethan Tayloraccording to On3 Sports recruiting analyst Joe Tipton

Taylor selected Michigan State over Indiana, Kansas, Oregon and Oklahoma. 

According to 247Sports Composite, Ethan Taylor is ranked as the No. 49 overall prospect in the class of 2026, he is also the fifth best center in the class.

Taylor averaged 14 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game this past season with Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in Kansas before transferring to Link Academy in Branson, Missouri, where he’ll play his senior season.

What Michigan State is getting in Ethan Taylor. Taylor has extremely good footwork in the post on offense and is quick at making his move to the rim. He doesn’t shy from contact and he’s got a little bit of an edge to him. His passing from the high post seems advanced and he can stretch the floor with mid range shot. Defensively, at least at the levels he’s played, he appears to have a knack for rim protection. This is a Day 1 starting center in the college game. His game reminds me a ton of Evan Mobley.

Adam Finkelstein, director of basketball scouting at CBS Sports, said that Taylor is already dominant in the paint but has room to grow with added size over time. 

"He can spin-off contact in the post, rise up for emphatic power dunks and be a consistent lob threat," Finkelestein said. "Still, there is room for more physical dominance, as he continues to harness his conditioning in order to consistently keep up with the pace of an up-tempo game and learns to be more proactively physical in order to dominate the paint to the extent he’s capable of."

Indiana has two committed players: four-star small forward Vaughn Karvala and three-star shooting guard Prince-Alexander Moody.