Almost seven months ago in Indianapolis, Michigan cut down the nets to cap the greatest season in program history, and one of the best championship runs college basketball has ever seen. The Wolverines finished 37-3, champions of the Big Ten, dominated in rivalry games and the NCAA tournament, and won their first national championship since 1989.
Following up a national championship is a tall order. Even more so when the three biggest stars of the title team were lottery picks in the NBA Draft, and the head coach departed in late June. No, this is not last year’s generational team, but the 2026-27 Michigan roster is plenty talented to reach the Final Four in Detroit.
2025-26 record: 37-3, national champions, Big Ten regular season champions
Offseason review
As has become Michigan tradition, the offseason following a national championship is anything but ordinary. For the basketball program, the bombshell dropped on June 23rd when the Dallas Mavericks hired Dusty May as the team’s new head coach. May only spent two seasons in Ann Arbor, but delivered a national championship, a Big Ten regular season and Big Ten Tournament title, and the undisputed greatest season in program history.
Mike Boynton Jr. promoted to head coach
Given the timing of May’s departure, the only logical option was to name assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. as head coach for this season. Boynton signed a two-year contract, with no guaranteed money in year two. In short, this season is an audition for Boynton. He brings head coaching experience from seven years as the head man at Oklahoma State, where he coached the Cowboys to a 119-109 record and one NCAA Tournament appearance. His tenure in Stillwater was mediocre; the expectations at Michigan are much higher, especially after last season.
Dusty May credited Boynton as the architect of Michigan’s defense last season, which ranked among the best in college basketball. The offense is the big question. Oklahoma State ranked outside the top 200 in offense in five of Boynton’s seven seasons. The even bigger question is: does Boynton have what it takes to win at the highest level? He has a one-year audition to figure it out.
Offseason roster moves
Michigan became the ninth team in the lottery era (dating back to 1985) to have three players selected in the NBA Draft lottery, and only the third national champion to do so. Morez Johnson Jr. (9th overall) joined Dusty May in Dallas. Yaxel Lendeborg (11th) went to the Warriors, and Aday Mara (12th) joined Oklahoma City. Johnson, Lendeborg, and Mara were the top three scorers and rebounders on last season’s team and anchored an elite defense.
Replacing the big three in the front court will be impossible, but Dusty May did his best to reload before his departure. Transfer center Moustapha Thiam ranked as the #13 overall player in the portal, according to 247Sports. The 7-foot-2, 250-pound big man averaged 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game with Cincinnati last season. At power forward, Michigan landed J.P. Estrella from Tennessee. Michigan saw Estrella first hand last season in its Elite Eight blowout victory. He started 13 games for the Volunteers last season, averaging 10 points per game on 59.6% from the field. Thiam and Estrella give Michigan a talented frontcourt duo that can compete with anyone in the Big Ten.
To round out the transfer class, Michigan brought in LSU forward Jalen Reed and Columbia point guard Kenny Noland. Reed is recovering from a season-ending injury from last season, so his exact role to start the season is unknown. But he averaged over 10 points per game over the last two seasons in Baton Rouge. Noland brings 57 games worth of starting experience from Columbia, where he averaged 17.1 points per game last season and shot 37.5% from three. Making the jump from the Ivy League to the Big Ten brings up questions about how well Noland’s game will translate, but he brings plenty of experience and playmaking abilities.
In the back court, Elliot Cadeau, Trey McKenney, and Roddy Gayle Jr. return, giving Michigan one of the best and most experienced backcourts in America. The trio shined brightest in the NCAA Tournament, with Cadeau winning Most Outstanding Player. L.J. Cason, who tore his ACL against Illinois in November, was the only returnee who transferred when Dusty May left.
Michigan’s freshman class ranked 11th in the country with six recruits, including five-star guard Brandon McCoy Jr. Unfortunately, McCoy suffered a season-ending injury over the summer during a scrimmage in Europe. His loss is noteworthy and certainly impacts Michigan’s ceiling this season. Small forward Lincoln Cosby, a top-75 recruit, tore his ACL last year in high school and will rehab this season. Guard Joseph Hartman and forward Malachi Brown do not figure to be mainstays in the rotation as freshman, but were both four-star recruits.
However, there is one incoming freshman with a path to contributing right away. 6-foot-10 forward Quinn Costello ranked top-50 overall in the class and should play a big role at power forward with J.P. Estrella. Costello is a strong three-point shooter, to the point where both Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney shouted him out in offseason media sessions.
Returning sophomores Ricky Liburd and Oscar Goodman are candidates for minutes off the bench. Boynton said of Liburd, “shot making, rebounding, physicality, versatility, he’s a really good athlete so he can play in transition with us.” Goodman saw limited minutes off the bench last season, but could transition to an end-of-rotation role similar to Will Tschetter of a season ago.
Projected rotation
Point guard: Elliot Cadeau
Shooting guard: Trey McKenney
Small forward: Roddy Gayle Jr.
Power forward: J.P. Estrella
Center: Moustapha Thiam
Bench guards: Kenny Noland, Ricky Liburd
Bench forwards/center: Quinn Costello, Jalen Reed, Oscar Goodman
End of bench: Joseph Hartman, Malachi Brown, Marcus Moller
The ‘26/27 Wolverines are likely not as deep as a season ago. While Mike Boynton said the rotation is 8-9 deep to start the season, the quality of depth is not as high, at least to start. After all, McKenney and Gayle were not starters last season. The starting lineup of Cadeau, McKenney, Gayle, Estrella, and Thiam is as dangerous as any in the Big Ten. Finding a few reliable pieces off the bench will be the key to Michigan making a run.
The schedule
Michigan plays a fun non-conference schedule, including a national championship rematch with UConn on November 6th in Boston. It should be a fantastic early season matchup, although it would be better on campus, just like every other neutral site game. Other noncon highlights include a home game against Marquette on November 11th, a matchup at Little Caesars Arena on December 5th against Louisville, a game in Vegas against Creighton in the Players Era tournament, and a road game at Villanova on November 21st.
In conference play, Purdue makes a trip to Ann Arbor on January 8th and preseason favorite Illinois visits on February 9th. Michigan State heads to Crisler on February 13th, with the return trip to Breslin on February 26th. Ohio State visits Ann Arbor on January 30th, and Michigan ends the regular season in Columbus on March 7th. The west coast trip visits Los Angeles for games against USC on January 23rd and UCLA on January 26th. Conference play starts on December 9th with a trip to Rutgers.
Season expectations
It will be next to impossible for the 2026-27 Michigan hoops team to live up to the national championship squad of a season ago. This team does not have three lottery picks in the front court. But, that does not mean year one under Mike Boynton Jr. cannot be a success. Michigan’s starting lineup has the potential to be as good as anyone in the Big Ten. We know how good Cadeau, McKenney, and Gayle are in high-pressure games. Whereas last season’s team relied on the front court to win, this group will rely on its veteran, championship back court.
Two questions will determine how far Michigan goes this season: is Mike Boynton Jr. cut out for the job, and does Michigan have enough reliable depth? I expect this team to be strong defensively given it is Boynton’s calling card. According to Boynton’s contract, he must meet three of four benchmarks for his contract to become guaranteed next season:
- Win 24 regular season games
- Finish top-four in the Big Ten standings
- Win the Big Ten Tournament
- Reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament
Those benchmarks are the standard of what should be expected at Michigan year in and year out, set for years by John Beilein. If Boynton cannot meet the mark with a roster this talented, it will be clear he is not the man for the job. If he meets the expectation, he will have earned a second season at the helm.
Season prediction
Michigan enters the season ranked 16th in the AP Poll, a bit lower than where I would place them. My preseason pick to win the Big Ten is Illinois; it’s an all-in campaign for Brad Underwood after returning the majority of last season’s Final Four team. Michigan has enough talent to compete for the conference title once again and to make a run all the way to the Final Four in Detroit. However, this team is not the unicorn it was a season ago. The depth is not as good as a year ago, which comes into play as the season goes on. The front court beyond Thiam and Estrella is entirely unproven. I do think Quinn Costello will establish himself as a freshman, but relying on a true freshman to be the first big man off the bench and to play big minutes is a question mark.
The biggest reason to have confidence in Michigan this season is the trio of Elliot Cadeau, Trey McKenney, and Roddy Gayle Jr. We already know they are championship-caliber players, but are now expected to lead the show. Moustapha Thiam has all of the tools to be the next elite center for Michigan, but again, there is not a sure option behind him.
The NCAA Tournament is so random that I am not going to make a firm prediction as to how far Michigan goes. The team has enough talent to reach Detroit, but it will be a dogfight compared to 2026. For the regular season, I see the Wolverines finishing in the mid-20s in wins, fulfilling that benchmark in Boynton’s contract. I do not see this team being special as it was last season, but that does not mean it cannot be really good.
A successful season would mean finishing in the top few spots of the Big Ten, entering the final two weeks of the regular season in contention for the league title, making it to Saturday in the Big Ten Tournament, and reaching the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. All of the talent is there to do it. From there, anything could happen.
The season tips off on Monday, November 2nd against Oakland at 6:00 PM ET on Big Ten Network from Crisler Center.
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