{"id":187100,"date":"2026-04-06T23:53:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T03:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=187100"},"modified":"2026-04-06T23:56:53","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T03:56:53","slug":"what-is-next-for-the-michigan-wolverines-who-is-leaving-returning-and-transfer-targets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/04\/06\/what-is-next-for-the-michigan-wolverines-who-is-leaving-returning-and-transfer-targets\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Next For The Michigan Wolverines: Who Is Leaving, Returning And Transfer Targets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Michigan Wolverines <\/a>enjoyed its best season in program history. If the Wolverines want to keep the momentum going, Dusty May<\/a> has a lot of work to this offseason.<\/p>\n

What Is Next for the Michigan Wolverines<\/h2>\n

Michigan set several program records on its way to the school’s second national championship. With the UM’s\u00a0 69-63 victory over UConn, the Wolverines improved to 2-6 in national title games.\u00a0 The Wolverines, who won the Big Ten regular season title, also set records for victories in a season (37) and Big Ten wins (19). They also set NCAA Tournament<\/a> mark as their 91-73 semifinal win over Arizona (91-73) marked the largest margin of victory ever between No. 1 seeds.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Speaking of May, the 49-year-old will be back in Ann Arbor for a third season. May, who had been linked to the North Carolina job opening, \u201cinformed Michigan officials that he\u2019s not pursuing any college basketball jobs,\u201d on Sunday per ESPN’s Pete Thamel<\/a>. \u00a0May’s decision to remain with the Wolverines is not a surprise, but after Friday’s press conference he likely had to make it official.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“After last year, I decided that I’ll never, ever respond to any job speculation,” May said Friday. “I think it’s well-documented how happy I am at Michigan. Obviously, my private life, my personal life, my family, their happiness is very important.”<\/span><\/p>\n

May signed a five-year, $25.5 million extension with the Wolverines after guiding them to the Sweet 16 last year. May has now won three titles, including two conference titles (1 regular season and 1 tournament), and is 64-13 with the Wolverines. The Wolverines were just 26-40 in the two seasons prior to May’s arrival and missed the NCAA Tournament in three of Juwan Howard’s five seasons at the helm.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 Bob Donnan, Imagn Images<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Who Are The Wolverines Losing In 2025-26<\/h3>\n

May has weaponized the transfer portal since landing in Michigan. He will have to hit the portal hard this year as the Wolverines project to lose six of their top nine players. Yaxel Lendeborg, Nimari Burnett, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Will Tschetter are out of eligibility. Seven-foot-3 center Aday Marra<\/a> and star sophomore Morez Johnson Jr.<\/a> are likely to leave for the NBA draft<\/a>.\u00a0 Mara and Johnson Jr. are both projected as a late-first-round to early second round selection in this June’s draft.<\/p>\n

May has treated the portal like NBA free agency at Michigan, seeking veteran players with high certainty. May has brought in 10 transfers over the last two years, including all five of the Wolverines starters this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to give our team last year a lot of credit for the way those guys played and a couple of them left, a couple of them stayed, a couple of them went to the NBA,\u201d May said this past Thursday<\/a>. \u201cBut those guys \u2013 when you move up, there\u2019s a lot of questions when you go from low-major (college basketball) to high-major, whatever. There are a lot of questions. When you\u2019re recruiting, you\u2019re recruiting against that every day.<\/p>\n

May’s two high-school recruiting classes were ranked No. 32 in 2024 and No. 29 in 2025 by 247Sports. Two of his recruits L.J. Cason and Trey McKenney<\/a> — were valuable role players this year.<\/p>\n

Elliott Cadeau and Trey McKenney Have Reaffirmed Commitment To Wolverines<\/h3>\n

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On the positive side of things, Elliott Cadeau <\/a>and McKinney Jr. committed to return to the Wolverines before UM’s Elite Eight Game. Cadeau, who transferred from UNC this summer, took major steps in his development as a shooter while McKenney was an All-Big Ten Freshman selection this year.<\/p>\n

Cadeau will enter his senior season as the catalyst for the Wolverines next season. He has started every game for the Wolverines is a capable playmaker who has become a reliable 3-point shooter in his first year with the program, averaging 1.6\u00a0 treys at a 38% clip. Named to the 2026 NCAA Tournament All-Midwest Region and the Final 4 MVP, the 6-1-point guard scored in double-figures in four of his six tournament games while making 12 of 31 3-pointers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really want to play with\u00a0<\/span>Trey [McKenney], though. I\u2019ll definitely work on that,\u201d Cadeau told Chris Balas of The Wolverine<\/a> when making his decision to remain in school. \u201cHe\u2019s just a really good scorer. I feel like I\u2019m at my best when I have a scoring two guard on the court.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Who Else Could Return<\/h4>\n

McKenney is known as a scorer who had a terrific shooting year. McKenney knocked down 47% of his shots along with 1.7 threes at a 39% clip and 89% of his free throw attempts. The 6-4 combo guard was also terrific in the NCAA Tournament, especially Arizona and Alabama where he combined to score 33 points as he made 11 of 16 shots from the field, including 7 0f 11 from deep. He will likely move into the starting lineup next year.<\/p>\n

“Definitely planning on coming back next year,” McKenney said when he reaffirmed his committed to UM<\/a>. “We’re going to have a really talented team next year, I came in with a role this year and I think my role would definitely expand next year, so I’m definitely looking forward to coming back.”<\/span><\/p>\n

No one else has been confirmed to be returning. But Cason and Winters Grady are expected to return. Cason showed tremendous growth in year two with the Wolverines. He served as Cadeau’s primary backup before having his season ended early due to injury. Grady, who was a consensus top 100 recruit in 2025, saw sparse action before having his season ended due to a foot injury.\u00a0 Oscar Goodman and 7-2 center Malick Kordel could also return.<\/p>\n

2026 Recruiting and Potential Portal Targets<\/h4>\n

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May already has six players in their 2026 class, which 247Sports as the third best in the nation, with four having signed an NLI. Brandon McCoy, a consensus five-star combo guard out of Sierra Canyon HS in Bellflower, committed to the Wolverines during the Final Four.<\/p>\n

“Coach May’s vision lined up with my vision and dreams, which are to become a pro and stay in the league long term,” McCoy told ESPN when committed<\/a>. “He said I could fill up a stat sheet, play winning basketball, be an elite defender and play multiple positions.”<\/span><\/p>\n

May also has secured four-star recruits: Foward Quinn Costello (NLI), shooting guard Joseph Hartman and forward Lincoln Crosby (commitment). Three star shooting guard Malachi Brown and 7-2 Denmark national Marcus Moller are the other players signed.<\/p>\n

May will likely look to sew up the frontcourt in the transfer portal, especially skilled\u00a0 bigs who can pass. He will also add an experienced guard or two and at least one wing.<\/p>\n

Potential Top Targets<\/h5>\n

Daniel Freitag: A scoring lead guard who likes to get downhill though he is also a viable high-volume 3-point shooter. Started his career at Wisconsin before transferring t0 Buffalo this past season. Averaged 19.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists with the Bulls.<\/p>\n

Skylar Wicks: A 6-6 slashing wing with shot-making ability. Moved around quite a bit during his college career and had a career season with Saint Francis (PA) of the NEC last year. Averaged 17.8 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.8 steals with the Red Flash.<\/p>\n

Camren Hunter: One of the most productive players in the transfer portal. A 6-3 combo guard –who spent the 2024-25 campaign at Wisconsin — was named the A-Sun player of the Year at Central Arkansas as he averaged 21.0 points on 50% shooting. He is definitely a May-type player as he is a good decision-maker and is an outstanding shot-creator. Kentucky is also reportedly interested.<\/p>\n

Other Top Targets<\/h5>\n

<\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n

Karter Knox: A 6-6 wing who has the NBA tools though he has yet to reach his potential in two years at Arkansas. Had sophomore season ended early due to left meniscus surgery in mid\u2011February. Did show slight improvement from beyond the arc this past season, knocking down 1.2 threes at a 37% clip.<\/p>\n

Paulius Murauskas: One of the top players in the transfer portal who has improved in each of his past two college seasons at Saint Mary’s. The two-time All-WCC selection who is a physical player who is an efficient scorer around the rim, solid rebounder and a good passer. Produced 17.8 points and 7.6 boards this past season. Arizona State figures to be in the mix.<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n

Logan Duncomb: A late bloomer who battled injuries at Indiana and Xavier before spending the last two seasons at Winthrop. The 6-10 forward is a physical post presence who plays hard and a good rebounder and interior scorer. Named the 2026 Big South Player of the Year after averaging 18.9 points on 60% shooting and 8.9 rebounds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Michigan Wolverines enjoyed its best season in program history. If the Wolverines want to keep the momentum going, Dusty May has a lot of work to this offseason. What Is Next for the Michigan Wolverines Michigan set several program records on its way to the school’s second national championship. With the UM’s\u00a0 69-63 victory […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3146,"featured_media":187459,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,773,2,556,3],"tags":[3772,49355,866,832],"class_list":["post-187100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","category-featured","category-nba-draft","category-news","tag-college-basketball-recruiting","tag-dusty-may","tag-michigan-wolverines","tag-ncaa-tournament"],"modified_by":"Daniel Benjamin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3146"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=187100"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":187496,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/187100\/revisions\/187496"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187459"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=187100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=187100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=187100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}