UAB basketball coach Andy Kennedy pictured beside star player Yaxel Lendeborg.
© Chris Jones-Imagn Images
The UAB basketball team will be without star player Yaxel Lendeborg next season. The AAC Defensive Player of the Year has entered the transfer portal while also weighing his NBA options.
Blazers head coach Andy Kennedy spoke on the situation last month. He subtly shaded tampering rivals while teasing a threat to reveal the list of wrongdoers in the future.
Lendeborg was a first-team all-conference performer in 2024-25. He was recognized as the league’s best defender for a second straight season as a senior.
The forward spent two years in Birmingham. He was a two-time JuCo All-American at Arizona Western prior. This past season, he averaged a double-double at 17.7 points and 11.4 boards per night. Now, he’ll look to take another step up in competition.
Yaxel Lendeborg is in the portal. He is also keeping his NBA options open. The latest draft projections show late first round potential. That would likely be enough to push him to go pro. Still, with NIL opportunities now available at the college level, nothing is off the table.
Lendeborg should garner much attention from top programs around the country. He’d secure a hefty NIL payout should he sign with another program.
Head coach Andy Kennedy says the interest is there. It’s been there throughout his time at UAB. Kennedy admitted that numerous schools contacted Lendeborg in the middle of last season to guage interest. He jokingly threatened to expose the wrongdoers during an appearance on the Next Round show.
@nextroundlive “He had a big line on his DMs…I’ll show them to you one day. It’d be like the Epstein files, make a couple people uneasy… But the kid is tremendous. He’s a better person than he is a player and he has a chance to be one of the all-time greatest in the history of UAB.” Andy Kennedy on UAB Basketball star Yaxel Lendeborg #collegebasketball #hoops #tampering ♬ original sound – The Next Round
“He had a big line on his DMs,” he said. “I’ll show them to you one day… that’d make a couple people uneasy.”
Tampering is a growing issue at the mid-major level. Those programs have been put in an unwinnable spot with the introduction of NIL and the transfer portal.
Success brings about Power 4 vultures who pick the roster clean at season’s end. Coaches are forced to rebuild each year. It’s become a revolving door as they’re now feeder schools for larger programs.
“We’re basically a glorified JUCO… It’s easy to get them, but hard to retain them.”
-Norfolk State basketball coach Robert Jones
Yaxel Lendeborg showed loyalty last offseason despite boasting more lucrative opportunities. That decision paid off in terms of his NBA outlook. He’s likely headed the pro route though a transfer is now on the table. Either way, it appears he’s played his final game as a Blazer.