Two Players Wisconsin Could Poach From Michigan Following Dusty May's Departure

The talk of the college sports world Monday morning was Michigan basketball head coach Dusty May accepting the same role with the Dallas Mavericks, a seismic shift in the college hoops world.

The star coach is coming off a national title run with the Wolverines, his first ever national championship and his second Final Four appearance in four years (where he miraculously took Florida Atlantic in 2022-23).

The move obviously shifts the balance of power in the Big Ten, as May was the driving force behind Michigan's resurgence. He was both an elite recruiter and an elite Xs and Os coach who skyrocketed to the pinnacle of the sport in a few short years.

But May's departure should have the attention of programs across the country with roster spots still vacant. The head coach's sudden exit triggers a rule, recently modified by the NCAA according to ESPN's Jeff Borzello, that a 15-day transfer portal period will open for players on the team five days after a new head coach is hired or publicily announced.

Essentially, though current Wolverines are technically not allowed to enter the portal yet or be in contact with other institutions, it's open season on Michigan's roster right now.

May and his staff once again lured a stacked transfer portal class to Michigan and retained some top talent; I'm not going to be naive and say Wisconsin has a shot to land Moustapha Thiam or Elliot Cadeau.

It's also important to keep in mind that this is purely a thought experiment; Wisconsin could already be perfectly content with its team for 2026-27 and may not have the funds to enter the Ann Arbor exodus sweepstakes. But if the Badgers do peruse Michigan's roster, here's two players that could pique their curiosity:

Forward Jalen Reed

Michigan landed Reed in the offseason from LSU, his second straight season cut short by injury — the forward missed the final 26 games of the 2025-26 campaign. Still, there's a reason the Wolverines wanted him. He's an experienced, efficient frontcourt player with proven Power Four ability.

Michigan didn't bring in Reed to start, and he wouldn't be a starter on Wisconsin either. But the Badgers' forward depth looks somewhat shaky should just one starter go down with an injury. With just three forwards you feel comfortable seeing extended playing time (Nolan Winter, Austin Rapp and Victory Onuetu), another body in the frontcourt certainly wouldn't hurt.

In Reed's last full season (2023-24), he averaged 7.9 points and 4.1 rebounds on 52/62/39 shooting splits. Last season in Baton Rouge, before he suffered a season-ending achilles injury, he averaged 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds on 57/67/43 shooting splits.

Forward J.P. Estrella

Forwards are a hot commodity in the portal, especially 6-foot-11 ones who've spent three seasons in the SEC and are coming off a 10.0-point, 5.4-rebound season across 33 games with 13 starts.

Estrella would have plenty of other suitors should he elect to leave Ann Arbor, but again, more forward depth wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Wisconsin.

Estrella isn't much of a shooting big man, but he's as good as they come as an offensive rebounder (99th percentile in that category, according to CBBAnalyitics.com) and cleans up possessions proficiently, racking up offensive rebounds. Estrella would be an elite bench option in Madison.

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