Marquette, MI – November 4th, 2025 – Another season of college basketball tips off, and with it comes the promise of new stars, shocking upsets, and storylines that stretch from November to March. In this article, we’ll take a look at the 2025-26 roster that Dusty May and Tom Izzo put together.
In Dusty May’s first year, the Michigan Wolverines exceeded expectations, finishing with a 27-10 overall record and going 14-6 in Big Ten play. Led by Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin, they won the Big Ten Tournament, defeating Wisconsin 59-53 for the first time since 2018. Earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the Wolverines reached the Sweet Sixteen before being eliminated by Auburn 78-65.
May had another strong offseason in the transfer portal, landing one of the nation’s top classes. The group is led by Yaxel Lendeborg, the #1 portal player from UAB (17.7 ppg), along with Elliot Cadeau (UNC), Mortez Johnson Jr. (Illinois), and Aday Mara (UCLA). May also brought in two top high school recruits: five-star Trey McKenney, last season’s Mr. Basketball in Michigan, and four-star Winters Grady. The Wolverines opened the season last night by dominating Oakland, 121-78. Coach May’s son, Charlie, a transfer walk-on, scored his first Michigan points in a memorable family moment.
The 2024-2025 season for Spartan fans is one to remember as the team finished 30-7 overall and 17-3 in Big Ten play, winning the Big Ten Season Championship outright. Led by freshman Jace Richardson, son of MSU legend Jason Richardson, the Spartans entered the post-season as a two seed and would be eliminated in the Elite Eight by Auburn 70-64.
Tom Izzo enters his 31st season seeking his second National Championship. Spartans had seven roster spots open this offseason as they lost the three seniors (Zapala, Fidler, and Akins), three players moved through the transfer portal (Holloman, Booker, and Normand), and Richardson left for the NBA. This forced Izzo to use the transfer portal more than normal, bringing in Trey Fort (Stanford), Kaleb Glenn (FAU), Divine Ugochukwu (Miami), and Denham Wojick (Harvard). Joining them will be Jordan Scott and Cam Ward, both are four-stars and highly ranked high school prospects. Michigan State began its season last night, taking down Colgate 80-69. Fears Jr. added 14 points, 10 assists and 5 steals, while Kohler chipped in 16 points and 15 rebounds.
