Wolverine Digest

Michigan basketball darts to the top following the commitment of Aday Mara

Trent Knoop|
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

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Michigan Wolverines

It's been a successful offseason for Dusty May and the Michigan men's basketball program. The Wolverines had already landed a pair of talented high school recruits. Michigan signed five-star combo guard Trey McKenney, the Wolverines landed wing Winters Grady.

As May did last season, he went out and landed some star-studded transfers to replenish the roster. After losing Vlad Goldin and likely Danny Wolf, the Wolverines lacked some size under the basket. Michigan went out and landed 6-9 big man from Illinois, Morez Johnson Jr. Then Michigan hooked the big fish after landing UAB's 6-9 skilled big man, Yaxel Lendeborg. To make sure the Wolverines had enough depth, on Friday, Michigan landed UCLA's 7-3 center, Aday Mara.

The Wolverines also capitalized by landing North Carolina's starting point guard Elliot Cadeau from the portal. Tre Donaldson, Michigan's starting point guard this past season, left for Miami following the acquisition of Cadeau, so it's likely the former Tar Heel will become the new starting PG for the Wolverines.

With the four commitments from the portal, Michigan now has the No. 1 overall transfer portal class by 247Sports. Lendeborg was the No. 1 player in the portal, Johnson Jr. is ranked No. 23, Mara sits at No. 40, and Cadeau is ranked as the 51st-best player in the transfer portal.

Add in McKenney and Grady, Michigan has the No. 8 class in the country between high school prospects and the transfer portal.

- Enjoy more Michigan Wolverines coverage on Michigan Wolverines On SI -

More Michigan News:

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Michigan basketball ranked inside the top-5 for 2025-26 season by CBB analyst

For additional coverage of University of Michigan athletics:

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Trent Knoop
TRENT KNOOP

Trent began writing and covering Michigan athletics back in 2020. He became a credentialed member of the media in 2021. Trent began writing with Sports Illustrated in 2023 and became the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI during the 2025 football season. Trent also serves as the Publisher of Baylor Bears on SI. His other bylines have appeared on Maryland on SI, Wisconsin on SI, and across the USA TODAY Sports network. Trent’s love of sports and being able to tell stories to fans is what made him get into writing.

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