Michigan basketball secures Yaxel Lendeborg for 2025-26 after NBA draft decision
Michigan basketball secures Yaxel Lendeborg for 2025-26 after NBA draft decision
A little over a year ago, Dusty May wasted no time revamping the Big Ten-worst Michigan Wolverines team he took over, striking gold in the transfer portal to completely overhaul the program. With many of those players moving on -- whether it's through the NBA draft, loss of eligibility, or the transfer portal -- May looked to do the same again this offseason.
Though May got some solid transfers in North Carolina guard Elliot Cadeau, Illinois forward Morez Johnson Jr., and UCLA center Aday Mara, the big fish was UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg, thought to be the top overall player in the transfer portal, but a player who many thought would end up staying in the NBA draft after he started testing the waters.
Michigan holds on to Lendeborg
All eyes were on the NBA combine two weeks ago as Lendeborg performed well but was looking for a guaranteed contract. Though many mock drafts had Lendeborg as a first-round pick, it was mostly toward the back-end, where he wouldn't have received that guarantee.
Supposedly torn at '50-50' between the maize and blue and the NBA, Lendeborg ended up making his decision to come to Ann Arbor and finish out his college career with May and the Wolverines. He made the announcement on Tuesday morning.
Outlook for 2025-26 in Ann Arbor
With Lendeborg in the fold, officially, Michigan very well could make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Already, the Wolverines showed that with Dusty May at the helm, he could do more with less as the maize and blue won the Big Ten Tournament and made it to the Sweet 16. With a veritable star like Lendeborg as well as some of the other talent in Ann Arbor, the sky is the limit for Michigan, and a Final Four is certainly not out of the question.
Michigan added the aforementioned four in the portal, but also brings in four-star forward Winters Grady and five-star guard Trey McKenney via recruiting.
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