It has been less than a week since the Michigan Wolverines were bounced from the 2025 NCAA Tournament, and head coach Dusty May has already been working hard to build next season’s team.
It’s been less than one week since the Michigan Wolverines were bounced from the NCAA Tournament, and head coach Dusty May is already hard at work building next season’s team.
What May is currently running into is that many of the transfers he brought to Ann Arbor a season ago are either out of eligibility or want a new role for themselves. Because there are few limits to transferring multiple times, every player is essentially on a one-year contract, and it needs to be mutual that the contract gets extended for another season.
Let’s dive in and check on where Michigan’s roster currently stands as of today (April 3) and project how the rest of the offseason might go.
What we know
So far, the Wolverines have seen Justin Pippen , Sam Walters , Tre Donaldson and Jace Howard enter the transfer portal. Alongside them, Vlad Goldin and Rubin Jones are officially out of eligibility.
Not including NBA Draft declarations that will come in the near future, that is six players Michigan will need to replace next season. To no one’s surprise, May has already been busy finding those replacements. North Carolina point guard Elliot Cadaeu and Illinois forward Morez Johnson have already committed to next year’s team.
What we expect with the guards
The Wolverines need big men to replace Goldin and potentially Danny Wolf if he declares for the NBA Draft. Even if Wolf comes back, having a true center to run sets through inside the post was vital to May’s scheme, and I’m sure he wants another one to go alongside the aforementioned Williams.
As for guard play, the Wolverines’ backcourt as of now includes Cadaeu, L.J. Cason and Phat Phat Brooks, and incoming freshman Trey McKenney. Nimari Burnett still has a year of eligibility left, but it is unclear if he will return.
Nonetheless, May loves having and playing a lot of guards, so it is expected he will look to add 1-3 via the portal to give the group more experience. Some names of interest currently include Charlotte’s Nik Graves, North Florida’s Jasai Miles, Toledo’s Sam Lewis, Monmouth’s Abdi Bashir Jr., UCLA’s Sebastian Mack and Maryland’s Rodney Rice.
What we expect with the forwards
Alas, the forward spot will be an interesting one. He already replaced Walters with Johnson. However, Walters was a three-point specialist, scoring 78 of his 114 points from behind the arc this season. Comparatively, Johnson did not attempt a three all season.
Michigan is expected to bring Will Tschetter back for a fifth season, and freshman Oscar Goodman has been with the team since January. May also recruiting freshman Winters Grady , a 6-foot-5 four-star prospect who posted 19 points per game during his senior season on 53/42/87 shooting splits. Grady is built for the 3 spot.
There is lot of potential talent within this group, but there is a lot of unproven talent. Because of this, May might also want to grab a forward or two in the portal that can start right away. Options include Cal State Northridge’s Keonte Jones, Omaha’s Marquel Sutton, UAB’s Yaxel Lendeborg, Portland’s Austin Rapp and UConn’s Isaiah Abraham.
What could be a surprise
May is willing to get the best guys in the country in the portal and put together a winning team. That leaves almost every player expendable on the current roster. With fewer players each year willing to be patient and wait for their time to shine, it is possible we see more current players hit the transfer portal.
Additionally, it is largely expected that Wolf will declare for the draft. The 7-foot junior had a breakout season, starting all 37 games and averaging 13.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. The skillset is there for Wolf to be an NBA player, but his 120 turnovers were a large issue. If teams are worried about that for some reason, Wolf could use his final year of eligibility to bring the turnover numbers down while continuing to develop as a modern day big man.
There are many possibilities for how the offseason will go for May and the Wolverines. Needless to say, the offseason is just beginning and there is plenty of time for May to build his roster for the 2025-26 season.