If the big fish is to stay in college, he will play next year in Ann Arbor.
Yaxel Lendeborg, the 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior forward widely perceived as the top available player in the transfer portal, has pledged to go to Michigan basketball, a person with knowledge of the situation, but not permitted to speak publicly given it is not yet official, confirmed to the Free Press on Saturday morning.
The person told the Free Press that Lendeborg, No. 1 in the 247 Sports transfer portal rankings, is expected to keep his name in the 2025 NBA draft and test the waters, but there is belief at this time the ultimate destination will be to play for coach Dusty May in Ann Arbor.
Keep an eye on these events on the NBA calendar: April 26 (early entry deadline), May 9-11 (G League combine), May 11-18 (NBA combine). June 15 is the deadline for players to pull out of the draft.
A few sites already have him as a first-round pick, such as Bleacher Report (No. 26) and The Athletic (No. 28), while ESPN (No. 53) sees him as a late second-round flyer.
Lendeborg starred this season at UAB (24-13), averaging 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.8 blocks per game in 37 games.
Lendeborg, a Puerto Rico native, was also named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
May is familiar with him first-hand, as Lendeborg had 17 points and 21 rebounds in a win over May’s FAU team in February 2024.
Lendeborg spent two seasons at Arizona Western, a junior college, before joining the Blazers and head coach Andy Kennedy.
Earlier this week, the Free Press spoke with a separate program source who said the team had no problem prioritizing its “top guys” and Lendeborg was atop the list.
Michigan has also landed five-star North Carolina transfer guard Elliot Cadeau as well as former top-30 big man Morez Johnson Jr. from Illinois.
Both are tremendous talents, but Lendeborg is “Danny Wolf-lite,” according to one person close to the situation.
Lendeborg shot 35.7% (25-for-70) from 3-poin
U-M’s roster is beginning to round into shape, but the expectation was to add “at least 2-3 more” guys in the portal. Lendeborg is the most important of the bunch, there’s still more to be done: One more big, one more wing and one more shooting guard wouldn’t be out of the question.
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