DAVIDSON, N.C. (BVM) – Foster Loyer wasn’t used to adversity. The four-star phenom out of Clarkston, Michigan signed with Michigan State right as his junior season of high school basketball was starting. Two years of dominating everything in his path as an underclassmen was all Tom Izzo and his staff needed to see. He was going to make for little to no drop off when fan-favorite point guard Cassius Winston finished up his MSU career. 

Expectations were sky high for Loyer, and there was a reason for it. Loyer won Mr. Basketball in the state of Michigan. He has the record for most points in a quarter in an MHSAA championship game (19). He scored 40 points in that game at his future home, the Breslin Center, to take home his second Class A MHSAA title with Clarkston High School. He broke records by making 119 consecutive free throws in a row. There was nothing Loyer couldn’t do, and nobody had any reason to believe it wouldn’t continue at the next level. 

Speaking of Loyer’s accolades at the high school level, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. His father, John Loyer, was the leading scorer at Northmor High School in Galion, Ohio in 1983. He played collegiately at Akron and then had many stops as an NBA assistant coach and scout, including time as the Detroit Pistons interim head coach in 2014. 

His brother, Fletcher, has also risen through the ranks as a high school basketball star, and is now committed to Purdue University. The four-star shooting guard is currently the highest ranking commit in the Boilermakers’ 2022 class.

Foster and Fletcher’s sister, Jersey, is a high school volleyball player in the Class of 2024. Their mother, Katie Loyer, was a volleyball star at Indiana University. Athletics, competition, and success run in the family. Foster was well on his way to becoming the first NCAA star of the next generation of Loyers. 

Unfortunately, it didn’t get off to the start most were expecting. While there were a few strong performances against weaker, non-conference opponents, it never fully clicked. Fans hoped Foster’s 14–point performance against Ohio State in the 2019 Big Ten Tournament would serve as his breakout game. The guy who averaged 26 points a game on 51% from deep his senior year of high school was still in there somewhere. 

Only, this ended up just being a one-hit-wonder game. Before the Ohio State outburst, Foster was 4-for-20 on the year from 3-point range. After the OSU game, he rarely saw the floor in the Spartans’ 2019 tournament run. This was due first and foremost to the fact that Cassius Winston put the team on his back. But it was abundantly clear that Foster was a liability that MSU could not afford to put out there in a win-or-go-home scenario. 

Players who have achieved the accolades that Foster has do not just luck into them. He is still an unbelievable basketball talent, it just wasn’t a fit at Michigan State. On May 13, 2021, Foster announced his transfer to Davidson College. With transfer point guard Tyson Walker coming to MSU, along with the emergence of sophomore point guard AJ Hoggard, it was time to move on and start fresh. 

Maybe all Foster needed was a change of scenery, because he is now a completely different player. Starting at point guard for Davidson, Foster is averaging nearly 16 points per game on 47.5% shooting from distance. He’s playing on average 28.6 minutes per game, a key contributor to the streaking Davidson Wildcats. 

“Our interior game was strong and when you have three shooters like Foster (Loyer), Mike (Jones) and (Hyungjung) Lee on the perimeter, it gives you a chance to attack the paint a little bit better,” Davidson head coach Bob McKillop said after a win over Penn back in November. 

Not only did this reign true back in November, it has improved even more in the last couple of months. Foster has had scoring outputs of 27, 25 and 24, as well as a 35-point performance against Northeastern, where he went 8-for-12 from behind the 3-point arc. 

Davidson is 16-2, 6-0 in the Atlantic 10, and a current No. 9 seed according to Joe Lunardi’s Bracketology. They are currently on a 15-game winning streak as a team nobody wants to face come March, and Foster is a huge part of it. Second on the team in both minutes and scoring, he has absolutely revitalized his career. 

Loyer is currently killing St Joe’s. He’s absolutely perfect for Davidson. Found the spot where he’s surrounded by high-skill players, at the appropriate level and his D can hang. You’re going to see him leading Davidson in a first-round upset in the NCAA Tournament. Bank on it. https://t.co/u6hE5LCJD7

— Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn) January 6, 2022

Everyone knew there was more to Foster than the 1.6, 2.9, and 4.2 PPG seasons he had at Michigan State. He didn’t just forget how to shoot and take over a game. A change of scenery and a fresh start is doing wonders for the former Michigan Mr. Basketball, and it seems as if he’s finally ready for the big stage come March.

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