Can Michigan basketball follow up on its 2026 National Championship run after losing its head coach and three NBA lottery picks?
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason college basketball teams before the season starts. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Michigan basketball.
It’s time for the national champions: Michigan Basketball. Last year’s team seemed unstoppable in nearly every game of the season. The biggest thing that helped them last season was their grit on the boards and on defense in general. This past March, the Wolverines won their NCAA Tournament games by an average of nearly 21 points.
But it’s a new year for Michigan. For starters, there’s a new head man after Dusty May took on the Dallas Mavericks head coach position. Mike Boynton Jr. serves as Michigan’s new head coach after having served as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator with the Wolverines since 2024. May is not the only one that this Michigan basketball program lost to the NBA. Three lottery picks: Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr., and Yaxel Lendeborg– all three big-name players and big shoes to fill.
Elliot Cadeau will be the floor general of this team, playing alongside returners Trey McKenney and Roddy Gayle Jr. in the backcourt. Incoming freshman guard Brandon McCoy Jr. would’ve had a massive role on this team, likely as a starter; however, an ACL tear during Michigan’s final summer exhibition game will sideline him for the whole season. Two transfers round out the rest of the starting five: J.P. Estrella from Tennessee and Moustapha Thiam from Cincinnati. Both are huge additions to this lineup that lost so much talent.
Head coach: Mike Boynton Jr. (8th season overall, 1st at Michigan)
2025-26 record: 37-3, 19-1 (Big Ten)
2026 postseason finish: National Champions
Notable departures:
- Yaxel Lendeborg (15.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 3.2 APG, 51.5% FG, 37.2% 3P
- Aday Mara (12.1 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 66.8% FG, 30.0% 3P
- Morez Johnson Jr. (13.1 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 1.2 APG, 62.3% FG, 34.3% 3P)
Notable non-conference games:
- vs. UConn (Nov. 6) – Boston, MA
- vs. Marquette (Nov. 11)
- at Villanova (Nov. 21)
- vs. Creighton (Nov. 24) – Players Era
- vs. TCU OR Miami-Fla (Nov. 26) – Players Era
- vs. TBD (Nov. 27 or 28) – Players Era
- vs. Louisville (Dec. 5) – Detroit, MI
Projected Rotation
PG: Elliot Cadeau (6-1, 180, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 10.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.9 APG, 37.6 3P%
SG: Trey McKenney (6-4, 220, So.)
2025-26 stats: 9.9 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 0.9 APG, 39.1 3P%
SF: Roddy Gayne Jr. (6-5, 205, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 7.3 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.3 APG
PF: J.P Estrella (6-11, 240, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 10.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 0.8 APG, 59.6 FG% (Tennessee)
C: Moustapha Thiam (7-2, 250, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 12.8 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 0.5 APG, 1.6 BPG, 52.5 FG% (Cincinnati)
6: Jalen Reed (6-9, 245, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 9.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 0.7 APG, 57.1 FG%, 42.9 3P%, 6 GP (LSU)
*Suffered season-ending injury
7: Kenny Noland (6-2, 185, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 17.1 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 3.7 APG, 1.4 SPG, 37.5 3P% (Colombia)
8: Quinn Costello (6-10, 220, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 36 ranked recruit
9: Oscar Goodman (6-7, 235, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 1.4 PPG, 1.3 RPG, 0.4 APG
10: Lincoln Cosby (6-10, 215, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 48 ranked recruit
11: Marcus Moller (7-3, 230, Fr.)
International recruit from Denmark
12: Joseph Hartman (6-6, 200, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 97 ranked recruit
13: Ricky Liburd (6-5, 200, Rs.-Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 328 ranked recruit (2025)
14: Malachi Brown (6-6, 205, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 203 ranked recruit
Michigan basketball team MVP: Elliot Cadeau
Elliot Cadeau has a similar skill set to Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr.– they are two of the best passers in the country. With a pass-first mentality, Cadeau can certainly be the MVP of this team, as he creates opportunities for his teammates. This is a big part of why the team could put up so many points last season. Not only can he help his teammates’ production, but he also keeps defenses honest through his solid perimeter numbers. His presence as a two-way player gives him elite floor-general status. And he still has room to grow from a creative standpoint and in field-goal range, even while playing at such a high level, which means he can still stand out. To be the true MVP of this Michigan basketball team, really all he has to do is slightly improve his jumper and not let his lack of positional size limit his defensive capabilities.
Michigan basketball make-or-break player: Moustapha Thiam
Moustapha Thiam has big shoes to fill as the big man on this Michigan basketball roster. The departures of Lendeborg, Mara, and Johnson Jr. mean the Wolverines have lost considerable height and NBA-level talent. Thiam’s role with Michigan this season will have a big part in the team’s overall record by the time it comes to March. Last season at Cincinnati, the Senegalese native earned All-Big 12 honorable mention and ranked second on the team in scoring, rebounding, and blocks (50). Not only was he a team leader, but also a conference and national leader, leading the Big 12 and ranking seventh nationally in blocks per game and fourth nationally in total blocks (88). Thiam enters the season as the No. 13 player in the 2026 transfer portal and the No. 3 center.
Why he can make a difference at Michigan: his upside, length, athleticism, and two seasons of Big 12 experience. Thiam demonstrates qualities of a modern-day big who can stretch the floor, protect the rim, and give solid defensive versatility for his size. His mobility for his size is just what a team needs to be a strong competitor in the Big Ten,, and he looks to serve in a role similar to Mara’s last season.
What could go wrong: An issue for Thiam is his jumper– which is also a work in progress. Sometimes he’ll stop and pop up for jumpers when he shouldn’t. He surely has the potential to become an enforcer for the Wolverines like their previous bigs; however, this will depend on how well he develops his shot from the floor this season.
Key statistic: Scoring offense, opponent assists per game, etc.
Michigan basketball worked its way to the national title thanks to its elite defense. Last season, they had some of the best second-half defenses in the country, limiting opponents to just 38% from the field, the best in the country. This was largely thanks to Mara, whose responsibilities will be handed over to Thiam. The team has significant scoring talent, but to follow up last year’s team with so much competitive edge on both ends, they’ll have to stay in the game till the very end, as last year’s team did. How opponents shot last season will be a truth-teller for this season’s team.
Michigan basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 3rd in the Big Ten
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Elite Eight appearance