Michigan basketball cracks top-10 of latest way-too-early top-25 list
The Michigan Wolverines are still waiting out a few more potential roster moves in the lead-up to the 2025-26 season, but the ingredients appear to be in place for another strong campaign under head coach Dusty May.
A little over a year after making the splash hire of the 2024 offseason, May has Michigan in the mix to be a potential top-10 team in 2025-26, according to most way-too-early top-25 projections. In the most recent from ESPN’s Jeff Borzello, the Wolverines sit at No. 9 behind only Purdue, UConn, St. John’s, Houston, BYU, Duke, Louisville and Texas Tech.
“Dusty May hit the portal early in the cycle, landing three potential starters for the next season in Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB), Elliot Cadeau (North Carolina) and Morez Johnson Jr. (Illinois),” Borzello said. “Lendeborg is a borderline first-round pick, so there is a chance he’ll remain in the NBA draft instead. But Cadeau is an incredibly gifted passer and Johnson is primed for a big jump down low.”
Not mentioned in Borzello’s write-up is a fourth transfer addition in former UCLA center Aday Mara, who could compete for a starting job regardless of whether Lendeborg attends or not.
As far as Lendeborg’s decision goes, he has until May 28 to decide whether or not to stay in the draft or officially join Michigan for next season. He will participate in the NBA Combine from May 11-18 in Chicago, which should go a long way in determining what he decides to do. Most outlets have him as a fringe first-round prospect.
Michigan’s 2025-26 season will come with its share of challenges given its non-conference schedule and getting the new pieces to fit together.
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The Wolverines will play Wake Forest in Detroit at Little Caesars Arena next season, in addition to a road game at TCU (Nov. 14, 2025) and be part of the Players Era Festival in Las Vegas, which will be three games over Thanksgiving week. A neutral-site game with Duke has been rumored for Washington, D.C. in February 2026.
Michigan closed out Dusty May’s first season in Ann Arbor with a 27-10 record, a 19-win improvement from the previous year. The team won the Big Ten Conference tournament with wins over Purdue, Maryland and Wisconsin. The Wolverines were a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in Atlanta, where it eventually lost to top overall seed Auburn.
The Big Ten recently announced its conference schedule for next season, too, which includes home-and-home series with rivals Michigan State and Ohio State, along with Penn State.
At home, Michigan hosts Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Rutgers, UCLA, USC and Washington. Its road trips will be at Illinois, Iowa, Northwestern, Oregon, Purdue and Washington.
Dates and tip times will be announced in the future.
