2027 NBA Draft: Michigan Star Freshman to Miss Upcoming Season

Following the 2025-26 college basketball season, Michigan was in a great position.

The Wolverines were national champions in Dusty May's second season at the helm, and despite losing Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara to the 2026 NBA Draft, the team was set to return the NCAA Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, Elliot Cadeau, as well as Trey McKenney.

Michigan even added solid pieces in the transfer portal to replace the lost production, as Tennessee's J.P. Estrella and Cincinnati's Moustapha Thiam will both join the Wolverines for 2026-27.

More recently, though, the team has been faced with a few setbacks.

First, May left Michigan to become the Dallas Mavericks head coach, prompting the Wolverines to promote assistant coach Mike Boynton to fill May's role.

Then, on Tuesday, Sept. 1, Michigan announced that it will be without five-star freshman Brandon McCoy for the 2026-27 season due to an ACL injury to his right knee.

NEWS: Michigan star freshman Brandon McCoy will miss the season with "an ACL injury," the school announced today. The injury occurred in an exhibition game in Croatia last week. He was a Top 20 ranked player in ESPN's rankings and projected to have a huge impact at Michigan this… pic.twitter.com/Q8HmKgeqbA
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) September 1, 2026

Michigan didn't specify when the injury occured, but McCoy went to the ground with an apparent injury and was helped off the floor early in a Wolverines exhibition game against Mega Superbet, a Serbian team.

Was wrapping up football coverage from this afternoon, but this is a potentially very bad development for Michigan hoops.

Five-star freshman Brandon McCoy Jr. went down in today’s game in Europe and had to be carried off the court by staff and players. pic.twitter.com/8XsTlwlASG
— Tony Garcia | Detroit Free Press (@RealTonyGarcia) August 27, 2026

Hailing from Sierra Canyon School in California, McCoy was rated the No. 11 overall prospect and No. 2 shooting guard in the 2026 recruiting class by 247Sports. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 190 pounds, McCoy has good size at his position and is an exceptional athlete.

While the five-star prospect needs to improve as a 3-point shooter to reach his full potential, McCoy's defensive upside is encouraging and could have garnered attention from NBA scouts. The Wolverines' freshman had a chance to be picked in the lottery of the 2027 NBA Draft, but will now have to wait another year before getting to showcase his talentes at the NCAA level.

McCoy's injury weakens the 2027 class, a group that was already believed to be less talented than the 2026 draft.

For Michigan, the Wolverines will now have to patch together the team's rotation just a few months before the start of the 2026-27 campaign, as McCoy was likely going to start and see heavy minutes.

As a result, Boynton and company will seemingly lean more on Cadeau, a veteran point guard, and McKenney, who appears poised for a breakout sophomore season.

Alongside the team's two main pieces in the backcourt, Estrella and Thiam should also get plenty of opportunity in the Big Ten this season.

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