Two months after leading Michigan to a national championship, Wolverines head coach Dusty May is going pro. May has accepted an offer to become the next head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, ESPN reported Monday morning. The terms of the deal aren't known yet.
May, 49, quickly turned around Michigan in his two years in Ann Arbor. He went 64-13 since becoming the Wolverines' head coach in 2024, going 27-10 in his first year at the helm. That season ended with a Sweet 16 appearance, setting the stage for Michigan to make the jump as contenders in 2025-26.
The Wolverines did that, going 37-3 en route to winning the Big Ten regular season title and national championship. While May was only at Michigan for a couple of seasons, he helped develop a few players into NBA prospects. Big man Danny Wolf was a first-round pick after his one season with May in Ann Arbor, getting drafted by the Brooklyn Nets last season.
A few prospects from Michigan's national championship-winning team could be taken in the lottery in Tuesday's draft, with mock drafts having center Aday Mara, forward/center Morez Johnson Jr. and forward Yaxel Lendeborg all being first-round picks. Even though Michigan will lose a few first-round prospects, it was still expected to be one of the top teams in the nation in 2026-27 prior to May's departure. It landed former Cincinnati center Moustapha Thiam, former Tennessee forward J.P.
Estrella and former LSU forward Jalen Reed in the transfer portal, giving it the 12th-best portal class in the nation, per 247 Sports. On top of that, Michigan was able to keep guard Elliot Cadeau after he declared for the NBA Draft. After winning the award for the Final Four's most outstanding player, May and his staff successfully persuaded Cadeau to remain in Ann Arbor for another season.
With May and Cadeau set to return and after landing some major reinforcements in the transfer portal, Michigan was ranked third in FOX Sports college basketball analyst Casey Jacobsen's most recent top 25 poll. "It’s unfair to expect the Wolverines to match last year’s defensive dominance, but don’t underestimate May’s ability to build another elite unit," Jacobsen wrote. Now, Michigan will have to find a new head coach who'll be tasked with doing that relatively late in the offseason.
The Wolverines also lost assistant coach Justin Joyner this offseason, as he became the head coach of Oregon State, potentially taking out one name from the mix to replace May. Prior to becoming Michigan's head coach, May went 126-69 in five seasons at Florida Atlantic, leading the Owls to a surprise Final Four run in 2022-23.
