After committing to the Michigan Wolverines and flirting with the NBA Draft, Yaxel Lendeborg is in fact playing at Michigan next season. This news was first reported by ESPN on Tuesday morning.
Yaxel Lenderborg, a projected first round pick, will withdraw his name from the 2025 NBA draft and spend his final season in college at the University of Michigan, he told me and @DraftExpress. Agents Qais Haider, Ron Shade and Alex Saratsis informed the program Tuesday.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 27, 2025
Lendeborg, considered the best player in the transfer portal this offseason, committed to Michigan the first week of April. He was UAB’s leading scorer this past season, averaging 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game while shooting 52.2 percent from the field, 35.7 percent from three and 75.7 percent from the free throw line. He’s also a quality defender, being named AAC Defensive Player of the Year twice and leading the Blazers to the NCAA tournament in 2023-24.
Even after a solid showing at the NBA Combine, the combination of NIL and the ability to improve makes returning to college for players like Lendeborg more enticing.
Lendeborg doesn’t really have a clear weakness — he runs the floor well in transition, shoots the three-ball at an efficient clip, and is good at picking his spots and driving to the rim when the defense is caught in the middle of a rotation.
Here’s a look at Michigan’s roster for next season now with Lendeborg officially in the picture.
That’s 12 scholarships accounted for, meaning Michigan can offer at least one and up to three more scholarships. Odds are Michigan won’t use all the scholarships, but it’s not out of the question for the Wolverines to make a couple more moves before the offseason ends.
Quick aside — shoutout to May and his staff for bringing in a super talented group of transfers in for the second year in a row. 247Sports and Evan Miya both rank Michigan as having the top transfer class, with On3 ranking it second behind Kentucky.
Lendeborg has a chance to make a Danny Wolf-esque leap in his draft stock while earning NIL money and competing with a Michigan team that has one of the best in the Big Ten on paper. A player as good as him significantly raises the ceiling for Michigan in 2025-26.
For a more in-depth breakdown of Lendeborg’s game, here is my scouting report from last month.