Dusty May's roster is officially reloaded following transfer portal signings

Dusty May simply knows how to work the NCCA Transfer Portal. He's done it before, bringing in a top-10 class last year that led to a national championship using a savvy mix of athleticism, size, and scoring that was the perfect fit for basketball in Ann Arbor.

In his first season, May aggressively acquired players like Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, who led the team to a Sweet 16 birth after an 8-24 finish the year before. And the 2026 class looks to be just as good as three key Wolverine commitments made their move to Michigan official on Tuesday.

Michigan basketball inked Big Ten Scholarship Agreements with center Moustapha Thiam (who transferred from Cincinnati) as well as forwards Jalen Reed (who transferred from LSU) and J.P. Estrella (a Tennessee transfer). The portal class currently ranks No. 9 nationally in 247Sports' team transfer portal rankings and reflects just how well May has been able to reload, instead of rebuild, the roster in the wake of NCAA Tournament success.

How Dusty May reloaded Michigan's roster

Thiam is an excellent example of this. Standing 7-foot-2, he moves extremely well and has played some very strong defense. Last year, he also showed a great deal of offensive ability while averaging 12.8 points to go along with 7.1 rebounds, including a career-high 28 points in Cincinnati's 84–68 upset of No. 8 Kansas in February. He also had 21 double-figure scoring games, including four 20-point outings, showing just how much he can impact the game on the offensive end.

With Aday Mara declaring for the NBA draft, Thiam seems like a tailor-made replacement. Lest anyone should forget, before Dusty May developed Mara, he averaged just 5.1 points and 2.7 boards per game, wasting away on UCLA's bench. Thiam is already lightyears ahead of where Mara was before arriving in Ann Arbor, and that should give Wolverine fans a lot of confidence that he can continue the success that Michigan expects from its big men.

For his part, Estrella started 13 games for the Volunteers and put up 10 points and 5 rebounds per game. In March of this past season, he put together a pair of consecutive 20-point games against SEC opponents. He had 22 points against South Carolina and then 20 and 10 rebounds against Vanderbilt. Perhaps his most important quality is his tenacity on the offensive boards. Estrella posted a 17.3% offensive rebounding rate that ranked No. 8 in the nation, per KenPom. Dominating the glass was an important component of the Wolverines' success last year, and the pairing of Estrella and Thiam look to continue that trend next season.

Jalen Reed is all about potential

Jalen Reed's signing is all about potential, as he has had a brutal time, injury-wise. His career was significantly impacted by significant back-to-back season-ending injuries. The first was a torn ACL in December 2024 followed by a torn Achilles in November 2025. In total, Reed played in just 14 games in his final two seasons in Baton Rouge. At 6-foot-10 his athletic potential, when healthy, is extremely impressive. He will no doubt take time to acclimate to Michigan basketball but if he can stay on the court it will be extremely interesting to see what he can bring to the table.

The transfer portal is a major component of success in modern college basketball, as is the time-tested traditional method of high school recruiting. May and the Wolverines have that covered as well, as high school stars Brandon McCoy Jr. and Lincoln Cosby also signed their Big Ten Scholarship Agreements on Tuesday.

Cosby will not be suiting up for Dusty May right away. McCoy will be ready to go for Michigan next year as he joins an already loaded backcourt that includes Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney. The five-star guard anchors a recruiting class that is the nation's third overall combined unit, according to 247 Sports. The future continues to be bright in Ann Arbor, both in the portal and in the high school ranks.

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