DETROIT (10/31/2025) -- University of Detroit Mercy men's basketball redshirt freshman Tyler Spratt has seen the Titans win before. He has seen and heard some of the great players the program has produced, and local players have stayed to showcase greatness in their hometown.

That is what Spratt wanted, and that is why, when he decided to transfer, he knew he wanted to come back home.

"When I went into the portal, Detroit Mercy was the first school I called, the first school I reached out to," said Spratt. "You look at some of the greats, Tony Tolbert, Antoine Davis, there are so many people that just came through here, all the great names, all the banners in the sky. I grew up hearing about a lot of the history here."

He came from a basketball family, and they are all happy to see him back home, but one wouldn't mind if that home were a few more miles away. 

"My cousin is Kay Felder, and he is close to me. I talk to him probably every other day, so seeing him make it to the NBA, seeing him play at Oakland in the Horizon League, that was just something I had always wanted to do, follow in his footsteps. He would have loved to see me at Oakland, but it wasn't a fit for me, so we have already made a bet. If we beat Oakland, he is going to wear our jersey, and I said, I'll wear your jersey if they beat us," said Spratt. 

Spratt had a dynamic career in high school, earning All-League as a sophomore, junior, and senior, as well as All-State as a junior and senior. He posted 16.0 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.0 steals, and 3.0 assists as a senior and was a McDonald's All-American nominee. When it came to picking a college, he had Detroit Mercy in mind, but after the coaching change at UDM, he committed to Cleveland State.

"I am a man of my word," said Spratt. "I liked what Cleveland State had to offer, and I went there. I suffered an early injury, and the decision was made for me to redshirt, which turned out to be a blessing. We had a lot of older guys on the team, and we were good. We won 15 in a row at one point, and I got to see what a winning culture is all about. I got in better shape, my body fat went down to about 7% and my weight went from 188 to 204, and really, it turned out to be great for me, not using a year of eligibility playing few minutes."

Cleveland State had a coaching change, and he decided that it was best to transfer. He already knew the Titan coaching staff, but even with that, they wanted to make sure Detroit Mercy was truly the best fit for him.

"I didn't really need to take a visit to the school because I was from the area and knew about it and what I wanted," said Spratt. I have been going to Titan games since I was at least eight. I was already familiar with the area and the coaches, and at the end of my official visit, I committed right away. I already knew I wanted to come, and I didn't really need a visit, but they wanted to show me the ins and outs, wanted to give me the whole presentation, and make sure that I was making the best decision."

One of the reasons he wanted to come back was to help restore that Titan pride. He heard all the stories growing up, but the last few years have not been up to that standard, and he thought it would be great to help rebuild it. 

"The history lately has not been as good as Detroit Mercy is supposed to be," said Spratt. "I'm glad I'm able to come home and be able to somewhat change the narrative, especially with a number of guys that I already knew. I played with and against most of the guys already, and just coming together to get it done would be great."

Outside of basketball, Spratt is hoping to stay in the game in the communications field. A close family friend is former NBA star and current analyst Steve Smith, and he would love to be in that world.

"I really want to go into sports broadcasting. My dad's close friend is Steve Smith, he is like an uncle to me. So seeing him, how he went from basketball to sports broadcasting, that's really what I came here to major in and go into. Obviously, my main goal is to play professional basketball," added Spratt.