Michigan's Winning Formula and Dominance Will Be Tough to Replicate in Portal Era

The Wolverines will be trying to duplicate its success in the transfer portal

Michigan head coach Dusty May looks on from the court ahead of the NCAA National Championship game against Connecticut at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Winning a championship is hard and winning the way in which Michigan did this season is even more difficult.

Dusty May was able to navigate the portal, landed several impact players, and got them all to mesh nearly immediately to create one of the most dominant teams in college basketball from the start of the season through April.

More impressively, he did it in his second season at the school.

But it won’t be that easy for other teams to replicate as the Wolverines look to build on its success.

Elliot Cadeau, the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four, has already signed a deal to return to the team for his final season of eligibility and Michigan will retain key freshman reserve Trey McKenny for next season while the hope is L.J. Cason, who tore his ACL late in the regular season, will return at some point around January.

There are still questions surrounding Michigan with Morez Johnson and Aday Mara, who both feel destined to at least test the NBA Draft waters, but May and his coaching staff have already gotten started on replacing players like Yaxel Lendeborg, Roddy Gayle, and Nimari Burnett with the commitment from Tennessee big man JP Estrella.

The challenge of defending its title will be very difficult for the Wolverines as no team other than UConn, who won back-to-back titles in 2023 and 2024, has made it out of the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2016.

To add to its talent, Michigan has manufactured a Top-5 recruiting class entering the program this summer which is headlined by 5-star guard Brandon McCoy Jr.

Expect Michigan to remain involved with the top players in the transfer portal for the rest of the month to fill out its roster while the biggest key, retaining its current players, might not be solidified until late May following the NBA Draft process.