For the first time since 1989, Michigan is college basketball’s national champion. The Wolverines defeated UConn 69-63 on Monday night in Indianapolis to claim the program’s second national title. It also marked the first time since 2000 that a team from the Big Ten Conference was the final team standing.
Amidst the celebration of Michigan winning college basketball’s top prize, a photo was posted on social media by assistant coach Akeem Miskdeen of staffers appearing to scout who was available in the transfer portal. With the transfer portal officially opening less than 40 minutes after Michigan denied UConn its third title in four seasons, the preparation for next season had already begun.
Michigan built a roster heavy on the transfer portal en route to the title this season, with all five of its starters coming from outside of the program. Ironically, UConn had more players (Tarris Reed Jr.) who started their respective careers at Michigan than the team that won the national championship.
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With Nimari Burnett and Yaxel Lendeborg set to depart after exhausting their eligibility, all eyes will turn to the other three Michigan starters who have a decision to make: Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr. and the Final Four Most Outstanding Player, Elliot Cadeau. Cadeau is more likely to return than those other two players, who both project as first-round picks in the 2026 NBA Draft.
So, what’s next for the Wolverines? Here are three storylines to keep an eye on heading into the offseason.
Who stays, who goes?
Michigan’s starting lineup featured four new starters this season. Depending on the stay-or-go decisions of Cadeau, Mara and Johnson, Michigan could have more continuity than this year’s team that won the national title. Crazy, right?
Cadeau became a modern-day transfer portal redemption story after two up-and-down seasons at North Carolina. He has found a home in Ann Arbor, where his strengths have been utilized, and his confidence has increased. For all intents and purposes, we can assume Cadeau is back next season.
That means all eyes are on Johnson and Mara. Will they run it back after winning a national title? It’s possible. Last season, Florida brought back its entire frontcourt (Thomas Haugh, Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu) after winning the national title. Lendeborg is gone, but Mara and Johnson could return with increased roles.
One factor that could impact the decisions of those players and others in college basketball is that the top of next year’s NBA Draft class projects to be weaker than this year’s or the 2025 draft. Mara and Johnson are both in the mix to be selected on Day 1, but they could be due for larger roles if they return.
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Another name to keep an eye on is Trey McKenney. The former four-star recruit would’ve started on a handful of power conference teams, but because of Michigan’s depth, he came off the bench. McKenney is someone who could have a significant role as a starter next season. LJ Cason suffered a torn ACL earlier this year and is expected to redshirt during the 2026-27 season.
In short, there will naturally be turnover on next year’s roster. However, if anyone can build a roster again from the ground up via the transfer portal, it’s Michigan coach Dusty May. The Wolverines also have six commits in their 2026 recruiting class. The crown jewel of that class is five-star guard Brandon McCoy, who committed to Michigan last weekend.
Will May follow the transfer portal blueprint again?
Michigan will be able to get a clearer picture of what the roster looks like after the stay-or-go decisions happen. Regardless, May will likely follow the blueprint he has in each of the last two seasons at Michigan, which is to add size via the portal. In his first offseason at Michigan, he added Vlad Goldin (his former player at Florida Atlantic) and Danny Wolf from Yale to create a unique frontcourt of 7-footers. It worked. So what did May do this past offseason? Add even more size.
Michigan’s frontcourt of Lendeborg (6-foot-9), Johnson (6-foot-9), and Mara (7-foot-3) overwhelmed teams. It’s why the Wolverines were able to dominate Arizona at its own game, despite Lendeborg not being at 100% due to a knee injury.
If Mara and Johnson return, that is your starting four and five. Cadeau will likely slot again at the point, with McKenney having a chance to slot into the starting lineup in the backcourt. The main need is another forward, like Lendeborg, to complete the starting five. Michigan will be looking for frontcourt depth because, again, size matters in the NCAA Tournament. McCoy will have the best chance of playing the McKenney role (good freshman scorer off the bench), but Michigan still has needs.
After what May did with his transfers last cycle, Michigan becomes a very appealing destination for all the top guys available. Something that May also have shown is that he’s not afraid to take in intraconference transfers. Michigan had three (Roddy Gayle Jr., Johnson and Mara) this season.
Replacing a key assistant coach is another order of business
One of the side effects of sustaining success is seeing your assistant coaches get poached by other programs in need of a head coach. Michigan and UConn were both the recipients of that this cycle. UConn assistant Luke Murray took the job at Boston College, while Michigan assistant Justin Joyner was juggling a national title run at Michigan and becoming the head coach at Oregon State.
Last year, Florida lost two assistant coaches to other jobs. Kevin Hovde and John Andrzejek took over the reins at Columbia and Campbell, respectively. Andrzejek lasted just one season at Campbell and resigned from his post to take an assistant coaching job at Louisville.
Joyner was with May at Michigan the last two seasons. May poached him away from his post as the associate head coach at Saint Mary’s. With Joyner out, another order of business for May — while celebrating a national title win and building out the roster for next season — will be finding Joyner’s replacement on the coaching staff.