Michigan Basketball’s Morez Johnson Jr. named to USA Men’s U19 team

Morez Johnson Jr., one of the recent additions for Michigan’s men’s basketball team via the transfer portal, earned some big-time recognition by getting named to the 2025 USA Basketball Men’s U19 National Team:

One of the Michigan Wolverines’ biggest offseason additions — center Morez Johnson Jr. — earned some major recognition on Friday, as he was selected to the 2025 USA Basketball Men’s U19 National Team.

USA’s U19 men’s national team will compete in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup. The tournament tips off with group play on Saturday, June 28. Johnson and Team USA will play their first game against Australia.

The USA roster features some of the best young players from the high school and college ranks, including Tyran Stokes and Brandon McCoy Jr., top prospects in the 2026 high school recruiting class. It also features A.J. Dybantsa, an incoming true freshman at BYU that should be in the mix for the No, 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft .

Johnson represents one of the few players on the team with college experience. He came to Michigan this offseason from the transfer portal after playing his freshman season last year for Brad Underwood at Illinois. He appeared in 30 games for the Fighting Illini, making eight starts while scoring seven points and pulling down 6.7 rebounds per game.

Johnson was ranked as the No. 40 overall player in the transfer portal by On3 , contributing to head coach Dusty May’s portal class. Standing 6-foot-9 and weighing 255 pounds, Michigan got some badly-needed size with Johnson on its roster after the departures of Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf for the draft. He will likely slot in as the starting center for the Wolverines this season with UCLA transfer Aday Mara coming off the bench.