Wolverine Digest

BREAKING: Top rated portal player officially withdraws from NBA Draft, will join Wolverines

Jerred Johnson|
Michigan head coach Dusty May cheers
Michigan head coach Dusty May cheers | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

Michigan men's basketball head coach Dusty May has to feel like he won the lottery today. After flirting with the NBA Draft process for the last month, rated portal player Yaxel Lendeborg has withdrawn his name and officially joins the Michigan Wolverines 2025-26 hoops team. Adding Yaxel to a team that is loaded with talent via returning seniors (Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle), the other members of the transfer portal (Morz Johnson, Aday Mara, and Eliot Cadeau) and an incoming freshman that was a McDonald's All-American (Trey Mckenney) moves Michigan into championship contention immediately.

Yaxel left UAB as the top-rated transfer player available in this class. After committing to May and the Wolverines on April 5th, he let the staff know he was going to go through the NBA Draft process to see what his options were professionally. After the combines and workouts, Yaxel was predicted as a low first-round draft pick; most had him in the 25th-26th pick range. That projection did not match his goals, and he is now headed to Ann Arbor, much to the excitement of the Michigan fan base.

On a recent visit to Ann Arbor Yaxel shared that his goals, were he to come to Michigan, are winning Big Ten Player of the Year and at least reaching the Final Four. I would say he has the talent to compete for that individual title, and the team certainly has the talent and makeup to reach the Final Four and maybe even end up as the last team standing. It's xciting news for the Michigan men's basketball program.

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Jerred Johnson
JERRED JOHNSON

Jerred Johnson has served in the United States military for over 23 years. He has a Bachelors in Marketing, a Masters in Management and is in the final phases of completing his Doctorate in Business Administration.

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