Michigan’s offseason has been a test of survival ever since Dusty May bolted for the Dallas Mavericks in late June, but so far the Wolverines have avoided the kind of roster bleed that can wreck a program in a hurry.
That matters because Michigan is trying to keep a championship-level core intact after winning the national title and finishing the most dominant season in program history. The coaching change could have sent the roster into free fall. Instead, interim head coach Mike Boynton Jr. has kept the pieces moving in the same direction, and through this point no player has announced plans to leave since May’s exit.
Boynton’s promotion was about more than just filling the seat. Michigan leaned on his recruiting background and his comfort with the system, hoping that combination would give the Wolverines their best shot at holding the roster together. So far, that gamble looks like it’s paying off.
The group coming in is no small thing either. Michigan has the nation’s No. 2 incoming class this offseason, headlined by three Transfer Portal additions in Moustapha Thiam, J.P.
Estrella and Jalen Reed. They’re set to join six freshmen and a returning group that includes guards Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney.
Boynton made it clear he believes the relationships already in place can carry Michigan through the transition.
"We feel good about the relationships that our staff has with the players on the team," Boynton said after he was promoted. "These guys all committed to come to Michigan to play together, and the team that we put together, we feel like can compete nationally, and certainly at the higher end of the Big Ten, and those conversations are ongoing.
I don't want to speak for any of them. I'm glad for all the guys who have already made their intentions known, and I look forward to continuing to talk to the guys who haven't officially and getting them on board as well."
He also said the Wolverines should look a lot like the team May would have coached in 2026-27.
"We'll continue to play the system that we played the last couple years with Dusty," he said. "We'll play a lot through our ones and fives. Our wings will be dynamic playmakers and shooters, and we'll continue to put guys in position to succeed as a team, but also to do what Morez, Aday and Yax are going to do [at the NBA Draft]: Walk across the stage, shake Adam Silver's hand, hear the name called, and live out their NBA dreams."
Here’s where Michigan’s roster stands now:
Trey McKenney is confirmed back as a returning guard, and Elliot Cadeau is also staying as the returning point guard. The Wolverines’ portal additions - J.P. Estrella, Moustapha Thiam and Jalen Reed - are all confirmed in place, along with incoming freshmen Lincoln Cosby, Joseph Hartman, Malachi Brown, Brandon McCoy and Marcus Moller.
There are still four players without an announcement: L.J. Cason, Ricky Liburd, Oscar Goodman and Quinn Costello.
Michigan’s previously known departures remain the same. Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. are headed to the NBA, while Will Tshetter, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Nimari Burnett are out of eligibility. Winters Grady and Malick Kordel have entered the transfer portal.
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Michigans footprint in the first round was hard to miss, with three players going in the opening round as part of a historic class for the program. Lendeborg, meanwhile, sounded eager to settle into Golden State and soak up the chance to be around Steph Curry, a move that only adds to the intrigue around how quickly his game might translate at the next level. [Read more 🡒]