Michigan Basketball Loses Second Freshman to the Transfer Portal

For the second time since winning the national title, Michigan has lost a player to the transfer portal.

Freshman Winters Grady was the first player to leave Ann Arbor, and now, fellow freshman Malick Kordel will join him.

Kordel, a 7'2" center from Germany, joined Michigan this past season and played in 14 games off the bench. When he did see action, Kordel averaged 4.1 minutes of game action, with 1.2 points and 1.5 rebounds per game.

The big center was unranked when he signed with Michigan ahead of the 2025-26 season. With Kordel's portal entry, Michigan essentially could lose all of its frontcourt starters and depth from this season.

Aday Mara and Morez Johnson could both leave for the NBA Draft. Both Will Tschetter and Kordel are gone, too. Add in Yaxel Lendeborg, and the Wolverines frontcourt will likely look totally different when Michigan takes the court for the 2026-27 season.

Looking ahead for Michigan

Losing Kordell stings a little for the Wolverines' future. He was quite raw, but Kordel possesses a lot of potential, and it was seen on the court. He was athletic and ran the court, and we saw how he could go up for alley-oops like Aday Mara with Elliot Cadeau.

It's likely that Kordel is searching for a new home where he can get more playing time next season, and it's also possible that it wouldn't come at Michigan.

The Wolverines have two big men coming in for the 2026 recruiting class. Forward Quinn Costello, who is a 6'10" forward and a top-40 prospect, could see immediate playing time. Michigan also has 7'3" center Marcus Moller coming in, but he likely won't see any time next season.

Michigan also landed a transfer portal commitment ahead of Kordel entering the transfer portal. The Wolverines landed Tennessee big man JP Estrella, who has two years of eligibility remaining.

Estrella is a 6'11" player and he started 13 of 33 games for the Vols this season. Estrella saw an average of 18.3 minutes of game time and he averaged 10 points, 5.4 rebounds, and shot 59.6 % from the field, along with 40% from three.

With the addition of Estrella, it's likely that Michigan will lose at least one of Mara and Johnson. The Wolverines are hoping to return one of them, and Michigan is also in the mix for a pair of Kansas big men.