EAST LANSING — KJ Torbert remembers plenty of instances when he was younger visiting Breslin Center to watch Michigan State basketball games.
Since those days, Torbert has been close to members of the program his father Kelvin once played in.
And now he will have a chance to be coached by one of those players he used to watch play on the court at Breslin.
Torbert announced his verbal commitment to play at Bowling Green during a ceremony at East Lansing High School on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Former MSU guard Lourawls “Tum Tum” Nairn is an assistant for a Bowling Green led by Fowler native Todd Simon and had a large role in his commitment.
“He was always checking on my every day to see how I’m doing and how my parents were doing and see all the changes that have happened,” Torbert said. “That’s my guy.”
Torbert chose Bowling Green over Western Michigan and Oakland. East Lansing coach Ray Mitchell sees the Mid-American Conference program as a good fit for Torbert.
“(Bowling Green is) getting an ultimate warrior,” Mitchell said. “This guy works super hard. He’s a gym rat. He’s going to compete every single day in the gym and he hates losing. They’re going to love having him. I have a relationship with Tum Tum Nairn and he recruited him really, really hard. We talked about KJ and he knows who KJ is. He’s been around the family for quite some time so they know what they’re getting. I’m excited for him and they’re excited.”
Torbert is coming off a strong junior season where he helped lead the Trojans to a Division 1 state title. He was named to the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan’s Best of Best team and a Michigan Sports Writers Division 1 all-state selection after averaging 21 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.5 steals during a 2024-25 season where he surpassed 1,000 career points. Torbert enters his senior season with 1,253 points.
Kelvn Torbert said seeing his son follow in his footsteps and commit to a Division I basketball program 25 years after he made his pledge to MSU is surreal.
“It’s a blessing,” Torbert said. “A lot of parents don’t get a chance to see their or do that. That’s a pat on the back for me and his mom to be able to raise a kid that’s good in school and good enough to make it in basketball to get a full-ride scholarship.”
Contact Brian Calloway at bcalloway@lsj.com. Follow him on X @brian_calloway and Bluesky @briancalloway.
This article originally appeared on Lansing State Journal: East Lansing basketball star KJ Torbert commits to Bowling Green
