Dusty May Talks Michigan Basketball’s Large Freshman Class

Michigan basketball added six freshmen to its 2026-27 roster.

Michigan head coach Dusty May watches the Jumbotron during the NCAA national championship trophy after the team beat Connecticut at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

On Wednesday afternoon (April 29), head Michigan basketball coach Dusty May spoke to the media regarding his incoming 2026 class. The Wolverines have six incoming freshmen and added three transfers to the squad. 

247Sports composite has the Wolverines ranked as the fourth-best freshmen recruiting class, only trailing Duke, Kansas and Arkansas.

Apr 6, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines players celebrate after defeating the Connecticut Huskies in the national championship of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

May explained to the media why he is bringing in so many freshmen for the upcoming season.

"Yeah, the biggest component was the expansion of rosters,” May said. “We have 15 spots now, and we thought this is a great opportunity to maybe take a flyer on a guy or two that we feel like will be really, really good in a couple years, and develop them, pour into them, and help them, and give them everything that Michigan has to offer."

Leading the list of freshmen coming to Ann Arbor is five-star recruit Brandon McCoy. ESPN has McCoy Jr. listed as the No. 18 recruit in the nation. With Elliot Cadeau potentially leaving Michigan, McCoy could be a key to filling the void of losing its starting point guard.

Apr 6, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau (3) celebrates after their win against the UConn Huskies in the national championship of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament between the and the Michigan Wolverines at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-Imagn Images | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

UofM is also bringing in three, four-star freshmen, Quinn Costello, Lincoln Cosby and Joseph Hartman. 

On top of the freshmen coming in, the Wolverines are bringing in three big men from the transfer portal: Moustapha Thiam (Cincinnati), Jalen Reed (LSU)  and J.P. Estrella (Tennessee).

Cincinnati Bearcats center Moustapha Thiam (52) makes a basket from three point range in the first half of the second round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament between the Cincinnati Bearcats and UCF Knights, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO. | Frank Bowen IV/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

May spoke on the preference of bringing in freshmen over players from the transfer portal.

"It varies month to month, year to year, and sometimes you do it, and you think, wow, I'm so glad we did that,” May said. “Other times you think, wow, we still have a gaping hole. I wish we had another spot open or whatever the case, but typically freshmen, one of them will surprise us with how good he is.One will surprise us with he's not quite as advanced as we thought, and the rest of them are gonna be probably exactly what we thought. That's typically the rule of thumb, the heuristics when it comes to recruiting freshmen, but we like our roster. And also, I think freshmen will be a little bit more forgiving if they're playing a rotation off the bench, or if they're playing a spot of minutes, because they have a long road ahead of them.Versus if you bring in a senior out of the portal, and he plays 12 minutes, he's probably gonna be a little more disgruntled, unless those were the terms that were laid out prior to signing." 

Expect the three transfers to be key to Michigan’s success in the 2026-27 season. With the Wolverines losing Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. to the NBA draft, bringing in frontcourt experience through the portal is going to be vital to continuing the program's success next season.