NCAAW: Kennedy Blair a walk-on star for Michigan State Spartans

Redshirt sophomore point guard Kennedy Blair’s path to becoming the best player on the No. 12 team in the nation—and the team she grew up rooting for—involved a financial sacrifice and playing-time gamble before her college career began.

Blair gave up a scholarship to Bowling Green because she wanted to follow head coach Robyn Fralick to Michigan State; the head coach at Bowling Green since 2018, Fralick was hired by MSU in 2023, ahead of Blair’s freshman season. While Blair knew she would make the team at MSU because she was a preferred walk-on, she didn’t know if she would eventually get a scholarship or become an impact player.

The decision placed Blair in her home state, at the school her older brother, Gannon, was already attending and the school both of her parents call their alma mater. It also put her in a position where she’d potentially get the opportunity to test her talents in one of the most competitive conferences in the country in the Big Ten. Not a bad set up if it were to all work out. It was just a matter of betting on herself.

Blair’s bet on herself has paid off even better than expected

The bet has paid off resoundingly.

Though the Spartans (19-4, 8-4 Big Ten) have lost their last two games, Blair has averaged 18 points, eight rebounds and 5.5 assists, including 21 points and 10 boards in what was nearly a huge rivalry win over now-No. 8 Michigan. (A potential Inés Sotelo game-winner rimmed out at the buzzer of regulation before MSU fell in overtime.) Blair made a difficult adjustment mid-air on the game-tying layup with 4.6 seconds remaining in the fourth and then forced the steal that set up Sotelo’s desperation half-courter.

She followed that up with 15 points and seven helpers against No. 22 Maryland, and though the Spartans lost by 16, they have mostly been worthy of their No. 12 ranking, which is up 11 spots from the preseason, while Blair has put up the best overall stats on the squad.

Her 72 points from Jan. 22 through Wednesday comprise her most prolific four-game scoring stretch during what has been a fantastic season. She’s averaging 13.8 points (second on MSU behind Grace VanSlooten’s 15.3), 7.1 rebounds (first), 5.5 assists (first), 2.2 steals (third) and 28.9 minutes (first).

At 5-foot-9, Blair is the second-shortest player in MSU’s rotation behind only 5-foot-8 Rashunda Jones. Yet, she leads the team in rebounding. Her hustle and high energy make her a legit triple-double threat. Also, her field goal percentage of 52 sits at 51st in the nation and ninth among guards! VanSlooten, who is in her second year at MSU after transferring from Oregon, is doing a great job and was the Spartans’ representative on the preseason All-Big Ten Team. But it has been the walk-on and not the No. 13 recruit in the 2022 SportsCenter NEXT 100 who has shined the brightest in Spartan Green this year.

It’s a feel-good story for a player who not only was a walk-on, but also redshirted her freshman season of 2023-24 due to a foot injury before averaging just 8.9 minutes and 3.4 points last year. Blair came into this season prepared to play a larger role, as she was named a starter for the opener, but it’s a little fairy tale-ish just how impactful she has become. And, again, it’s for the No. 12 team in the nation.

Breaking down Blair’s best performances of the season

Blair posted a phenomenal 12 helpers in 19 minutes in the opener vs. Mercyhurst. The rest of her stat line was solid: 14 points on 6-for-8 from the field, three steals and five boards. It was an early indication that she deserved to be a starter and could make a difference for the team. Though the points were just two higher than her 2024-25 season-high, the assists were nine higher.

Twelve days later, she dropped 14 again and nearly went for a triple-double with eight boards and eight helpers, plus another three swipes in 23 minutes. She followed that up with a career-high 15 rebounds in 23 minutes before notching a career-high 25 points on 10-for-11 from the floor in 25 minutes. That’s all a lot of production per minute. On Nov. 30, in MSU’s first game against a Power 4 opponent (a Clemson team that has since beaten NC State and Notre Dame), Blair upped her playing time to 33 minutes and had 22 points, 12 boards and five helpers, also putting forth her only notable 3-point performance of the season thus far (3-for-4).

She didn’t do a whole lot in the Spartans’ biggest win of the season over now-No. 13 Ole Miss, nor did she contribute much in the loss to No. 10 Iowa, but she’s scored 19-plus points against three currently ranked or receiving-votes opponents in Illinois (11-for-12 from the free throw line), No. 24 Washington and USC. She also had solid games against Nebraska (receiving votes) and Oregon (not receiving votes, but a quality opponent). Her two latest performances against a Michigan team that has flirted with national championship-contender status and a Maryland team that has been the class of the Big Ten for years, have solidified her as a big-game player.

MSU looks to bounce back at Penn State on Saturday (1 p.m. ET, B1G+). The program is seeking its first national championship, second Elite Eight, Final Four and title game appearances, and fourth Sweet 16 (first since 2009). If they are going to get there, Blair is going to play a huge role.

Blair has some strong feelings about Michigan State-Michigan rivalry

On “The Drive with Jack” radio show, Blair was asked if she would have given up her scholarship up to play at Michigan. Her serious-sounding response: “I don’t think I would have ever done that, I’ll tell you that.”

Maybe she wouldn’t have passed up a real (and not hypothetical) opportunity to play for such a great basketball program if it was the only option instead of Michigan State … but the sentiment of loyalty, and hatred for the Wolverines, is there.

And now we know she’ll never have to make the decision to play for the team she grew up rooting against to further her basketball career. She’s a star player at her dream school. She’s a Spartan through and through.