Michigan just won a national championship in 2026 under Dusty May. Now the guy who built that title team is gone. May is leaving Ann Arbor to become the next head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, which means the Wolverines are suddenly looking at a roster that could get picked apart.
The timing is brutal. We’re late in the cycle. Most programs have already filled their scholarship spots and set their rosters for next season. But May’s departure opens a 15-day transfer window for Michigan players — though it doesn’t open immediately. Under NCAA rules, that window starts five days after a new head coach is officially hired and publicly announced. So everyone has to wait.
What’s Coming Back at Michigan
The Wolverines were set to return a loaded group. Elliot Cadeau, Trey McKenney, Oscar Goodman, and Ricky Liburd are all reportedly planning to come back. On top of that, Michigan has a six-man recruiting class for 2027 already locked in. That’s a lot of talent that now has decisions to make.
Pete Thamel of ESPN laid out the situation pretty clearly. The players can explore their options once the new coach is in place. But there’s a catch — the longer Michigan takes to hire a replacement, the more time other programs have to start recruiting these guys behind the scenes.
And you can bet that’s already happening. With NIL deals being what they are, multiple programs are going to swoop in with offers that could turn heads. Players might be frustrated too. They signed up to play for May. They expected him to be around for a while.
The Unfinished Contract Situation
Here’s where things get a little awkward. During Michigan’s championship parade back in April, athletic director Warde Manuel went on stage and announced that May had agreed to a new deal that would keep him at Michigan for “many years to come.” That sounded final. But according to ESPN, that deal was never actually signed. No official announcement ever came after that day. So May was essentially coaching on a handshake agreement the whole time.
Now he’s gone. And Michigan has Mike Boynton waiting on the bench. Boynton joined the staff when May was hired before the 2024-25 season. He spent seven years as the head coach at Oklahoma State, so he knows what it takes to run a program. But whether he’s the guy they turn to permanently or just a bridge to someone else remains unclear.
Meanwhile, May is already looking ahead. He’s expected to focus on the NBA Draft and could target former Michigan player Yazel Lendeborg as a potential pickup for the Mavericks. That’s a whole separate story, but it shows how fast things move once the dominoes start falling.
The next few weeks will tell us a lot about whether Michigan can hold this thing together or if the roster starts to scatter.
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