Michigan State lands transfer Braden Burke from Robert Morris as preferred walk-on

EAST LANSING – Michigan State still has one more scholarship left for this fall, but the Spartans landed a big transfer who will sit out next season.

Former Stevensville Lakeshore star Braden Burke announced via Twitter on Wednesday night that he plans to return home as a preferred walk-on at MSU after spending one season in Robert Morris in suburban Pittsburgh.

The 6-foot-11, 220-pound center averaged 4.3 points and 2.7 rebounds over 15.2 minutes per game for the Colonials last season as a true freshman. He started seven of the 32 contests in which he played, shooting 42.4% from the field.

Burke averaged 19.4 points and 12.2 rebounds as a senior at Lakeshore High, leading the Lancers to a 20-8 record and a spot in the Class B state title game. As a junior, he averaged 17.6 points, 11.4 rebounds and 4.0 blocks.

After sitting out next season per NCAA transfer rules, Burke will have three seasons of eligibility remaining. The Spartans are hoping he can join in-state players such as Kenny Goins, Matt Van Dyk, Mike Kebler, Austin Thornton and Tim Bograkos who have gone from walk-ons to key contributors for Tom Izzo over his 22 seasons.

MSU still has one more scholarship available for the 2017-18 season after learning the NCAA had granted grad transfer Ben Carter a sixth year of eligibility on Monday. The Spartans remain among the top five finalists for five-star wing Brian Bowen, who reportedly took an unofficial visit to Oregon this week.

Bowen’s teammate at La Lumiere School, point guard Tyger Campbell, picked DePaul over MSU and others and said he hopes to reclassify into the 2018 class. Campbell told ESPN.com that he plans to get in Bowen’s ear to join him at DePaul, which hired their La Lumiere coach Shane Heirman last week.

Contact Chris Solari:csolari@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrissolari.