After the dominant 2025-26 campaign, which resulted in Dusty May and company cutting down the nets in Indianapolis, how sustainable is this transfer-heavy approach?
Back in 2025, St. John’s head coach Rick Pitino claimed, “We’re not recruiting any high school basketball players.” Arkansas head coach John Calipari has echoed similar sentiments: “How about freshmen recruiting? No one’s recruiting freshmen! You know why? Two reasons. Because kids will transfer, and they can cherry-pick. There were coaches this summer, not out one time evaluating freshmen.”
May has certainly relied on the portal and his ability to develop bigs is a major selling point — just ask Yaxel Lendeborg before he transferred in last offseason.
No, the Wolverines were not solely mercenaries paid to win games. But four starters (Elliot Cadeau, Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr., Aday Mara) did play a significant part in the Wolverines breaking that national title drought.
May has already reloaded with a strong portal class that features Cincinnati center Moustapha Thiam, Tennessee forward J.P. Estrella and LSU forward Jalen Reed. However, the staff is not solely reliant on those players, as five-star Brandon McCoy Jr. and a trio of four-stars — Quinn Costello, Lincoln Cosby and Joseph Hartman — will soon call Ann Arbor home.
Let’s not forget about Trey McKenney, either, who helped prove that even in this new era, freshmen are far from extinct. There was also that historic national freshman class with the likes of A.J. Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Darius Acuff Jr., Caleb Wilson and likely five to seven more (at least) quality NBA players in the college ranks this past season.
Perhaps the biggest problem with the portal is how it dilutes programs. When you have a revolving door of players, it becomes far more difficult to sustain culture, foundational values and it deprives fans of seeing that once freshman benchwarmer transform into a useful upperclassman.
May and his staff are under and should feel no pressure to change their methods. It does not get much better than a Sweet Sixteen and a National Championship in your first two years at the helm.
But, beyond the talented McKenney and McCoy’s of the world, why should college basketball teams approach high schoolers? Pitino and Calipari have been around for a while and know a thing or two about the sport.
The likely answer is that you need those freshmen to fill out a roster. Does any school have the funds to supply an eight-man rotation through the portal? Probably. However, adding those youngsters can not only help with your immediate success, but they can serve as program builders, culture setters and maintain some of that old-school college feel.
Look at Will Tschetter. He was ushered into the May era. Yet, nobody who watched the Wolverines this past season could argue they would be better off without Tschetter’s experience and familiarity with the school.
Fellow coaches may have a different outlook, and that’s just fine. For now, May and Michigan should keep up a strong portal presence while complementing those guys with the recent high school graduates.
