National analyst Andy Katz makes bold prediction about one Michigan basketball player

The Wolverines are going to be playing around him all season.

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After a Sweet 16 appearance last season in Year 1 of the Dusty May era, the Michigan Wolverines are expected to be really good once again in 2025-26. The Wolverines are a preseason top-10 team -- even with a new roster. Michigan returned a few veterans like Nimari Burnett, Roddy Gayle, and Will Tschetter, but coach May went out and landed playmakers in both the recruiting trail and the portal.

The Wolverines have one of the top transfer portal classes out there by adding big men Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB), Morez Johnson (Illinois, Aday Mara (UCLA), along with North Carolina guard Elliott Cadeau.

One Wolverine named as the top transfer amongst all of college basketball

Chris Jones-Imagn Images

With the four major additions coming into Ann Arbor, arguably the player Michigan will build around this season is Lendeborg. The elite big man was a top player AAC last season, and with him coming to Ann Arbor -- analysts are expecting him to soar.

Recently, analyst Andy Katz named his top 10 transfers for the new season and Lendeborg was ranked No. 1 overall.

"Lendeborg flirted with staying in the NBA draft but decided to return to college basketball, where he will have a major impact. He averaged 17 points and 11 boards for the Blazers. He’s a stat stuffer who will do all of that and more for the Wolverines," wrote Katz.

New names in new homes 🏠@TheAndyKatz names the top 10 transfers for the season 👀 pic.twitter.com/RUSFlK8qQG

— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) October 14, 2025

What Lendeborg brings to Ann Arbor

Last season, playing for UAB, the 6-foot-8 big man averaged 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. He also shot over 35% from deep. Lendeborg reminds you of Danny Wolf, but maybe without the playmaking ability on the ball. The Wolverines will be able to play through the skilled big on the block, but Lendeborg has the ability to make plays for his teammates -- hence averaging over four assists per game.

This summer, coach May talked about how he wanted to use Lendeborg this season.

“Well, they're very similar that they're both big players who are skilled," May said of Wolf and Lendeborg. "They're different in how they approach things. But the one thing about Yax, we think he'll be able to unlock some playmaking ability here.

"Once again, that league is a lot different. It's smaller, it's more athletic. We were able to play extremely small at FAU, at the Big Ten. He'll be defended by much bigger players a lot of the time. So he'll be able to use his speed and his quickness. But the one thing about Yax is when he draws to, the ball comes out of his hands, probably as well as anyone that we've recruited in the last several years, where he just has a really good feel for playing team basketball.

“And so you don't really have to change a lot. And so we'll just simply use him as a weapon, as a queen on a chessboard, like Derik Queen at Maryland, like Danny Wolf, just guys that can create and make plays. And then obviously Vlad had a lot to do with Danny's success.”

More From Michigan On SI:

• Where Michigan football ranks in various national college football polls after Week 7
• Sherrone Moore's message to Michigan football is simple after loss to USC
• Michigan football favored to get back on track in Week 8 against Washington
• Michigan football's odds vs. Washington, Playoff chances after losing to USC