We cracked the top-five of our offseason series, and some of our readers had a conniption seeing Hunter Dickinson‘s name starting us off. As we creep towards the top, there should be absolutely no drama surrounding who comes in at No. 4. The focal point of the team that was crowned national champions in 2026, an elite presence and infectious personality who emerged into superstardom in his only season in Ann Arbor. The magnificent Yaxel Lendeborg.
No. 4 – F Yaxel Lendeborg – Score: 187.4
Dusty May was a savant in the transfer portal. In a single offseason, May landed Morez Johnson Jr., Aday Mara and Lendeborg. He was bold enough to start all three simultaneously, creating the size advantage on both ends that made Michigan a matchup nightmare.
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The only way this once-scrutinized decision was going to work was if Lendeborg took the next step in his basketball journey. Lendeborg, the No. 1 recruit in the portal out of UAB, was a ball-dominant, back-to-the-basket player while playing two seasons in the AAC. May took a leap of faith Lendeborg could develop as a ball handler, but more importantly, as an outside shooter. In his two seasons for the Blazers, Lendeborg attempted just over 100 three-pointers and converted at a 34.9 percent clip.
A step up to the Big Ten meant Lendeborg wouldn’t just be playing much better competition, but also a role change to a true wing/forward position. May’s vision and patience in helping Lendeborg develop into the role paid off. By the end of the season, the Wolverines could trust their star player to do just about everything. He ran the point, played both ends of the pick-and-roll, posted up smaller defenders, shot 37.2 percent from beyond the arc while attempting 180 throughout the season, was an elite defensive presence while guarding all five positions, created for teammates and took over games down the stretch.
Lendeborg finished conference play as the best player on Michigan and easily in the top-five of all of college basketball. He was Michigan’s first Big Ten Player of the Year since Nik Stauskas (No. 6 on this list) and a consensus First-Team All-American.
In the Big Ten Tournament, Lendeborg hit one of the most memorable shots of the season to down the Wisconsin Badgers, the only conference opponent that topped the Wolverines during Big Ten play:
Although the Wolverines fell short of the Big Ten Tournament title, they did win the regular-season crown with a 19-1 record, the best conference record in program history.
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What happened next was an individual NCAA Tournament run that maize and blue fans had not seen the likes of since the great Glen Rice. Michigan won its first five games of the tournament by an average of more than 27 points per game, scoring 90 in each of them. That was largely carried by an all-time run from Lendeborg.
In the second-round win over Saint Louis, Lendeborg was unguardable, shooting 9-for-13 from the field while scoring 25 points and adding six rebounds. He followed that with one of the single greatest postseason performances in program history in a 90-77 win over Alabama in the Sweet 16 with 23 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
Then came the Elite Eight vs Tennessee, where Lendeborg dropped 27 points, seven rebounds, four assists and two blocks, helping send Michigan to its first Final Four since 2018. This stretch put him in the Mount Rushmore of postseason performers in Ann Arbor. He was the first Wolverine since 1994 to score 20-plus points in three consecutive NCAA Tournament games; the only other Michigan players to do it were Rice, Juwan Howard and Cazzie Russell. During those three games, Lendeborg averaged 25 points while shooting better than 60 percent overall and 70 percent from three.
The Final Four in Indianapolis was immaculate for the Wolverines, but Lendeborg took a small step back. He injured his ankle and knee in the dominant win over Arizona, and many thought he wouldn’t make an appearance vs UConn in the title game. Not only did he play through the injury, but he logged 36 minutes in an incredibly gritty performance despite a nominal 13-point performance.
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For a series ranking Michigan’s greatest players since 1989, no player has a more fitting claim to the top-five than Lendeborg. Thirty-seven years after Rice and the Wolverines won it all, Lendeborg became the All-American centerpiece of the team that finally won the next one. He was the pivotal player that lifted their ceiling from Big Ten contender to national contender. He was a difference-maker all over the court and ascended his game to a level that outperformed his already sky-high expectations coming out of the portal.
