Dusty May

2024–25

On March 23, 2024, May was named the 18th head basketball coach at the University of Michigan, agreeing to a five-year contract with an average value of $3.75 million annually.^[12][14][15] In his first month as head coach, May garnered seven new roster commitments in a five-day span, from April 19 to 24.^[16] On April 29, he added his eighth offseason commitment, his former center at FAU, Vladislav Goldin.^[17] Through November, the first month of the 2024-25 season, May led Michigan to a 6–1 record, including defeating No. 22 Xavier en route to being the Fort Myers Tip-Off champions.^[18]

The next two games, Michigan opened the Big Ten Conference season winning on the road against No. 11 Wisconsin and against Iowa. It was Michigan's seventh consecutive win, the longest streak since the 2020–21 Michigan team won 11 consecutive games to start the season. It was also the eighth total win, 8–1, matching the Wolverines previous season's win total; 8–24.^[19] On December 9, Michigan was ranked No. 14 in the AP poll. It marked the first time the Wolverines were ranked in the AP poll since November 14, 2022, and the first time inside the top 15 since November 15, 2021.^[20]

Through 22 games, May led Michigan to a 17–5 overall record, 9–2 in the Big Ten and 11–0 at home. Each marked the Wolverines' best record since the 2020–21 team.^[21][22] The next game, May returned to his alma mater with No. 24 Michigan defeating Indiana on the road.^[23] No. 20 Michigan then won against No. 7 Purdue, moving into first place in the Big Ten standings and improving to 12–0 at home, 11–2 in the conference and 4–2 versus ranked opponents. It was the program's first victory against a top ten ranked team at home since defeating No. 3 Purdue on February 10, 2022.^[24] In rivalry week, No. 20 Michigan defeated Ohio State on the road, winning their 20th game of the year (20–5), but at No. 12 in the rankings they lost their first home game of the season to No. 14 Michigan State.^[25][26]

On February 21, 2025, May signed a contract extension with Michigan.^[27][28] He received one additional year on his previous five-year contract, nearly one million dollars more per year, an increased buyout and a larger NIL investment in the program.^[29] Michigan won their next two games and sat in first place in the Big Ten, but lost the final three games of the regular season, including a second loss to Michigan State in the finale. They finished 22–9 and 14–6, tying Maryland for second place in the conference.^[30] The 14 conference wins by May were the most in program history for a first-year head coach, including the best win percentage in modern history, topping Steve Fisher's 12–6 conference record in his first official season as head coach with the 1989–90 Michigan team.^[31]

On March 14, No. 22 Michigan earned the three seed in the 2025 Big Ten tournament and defeated sixth-seeded No. 20 Purdue in the quarterfinal. With 23 wins on the season, May tied Steve Fisher for the second-most in program history by a first-year head coach.^[32][33] On March 15, Michigan defeated second-seeded No. 11 Maryland in the semifinal. On March 16, Michigan defeated fifth-seeded No. 18 Wisconsin in the Big Ten championship game, 59–53, winning the program's first Big Ten tournament since 2018. The Wolverines improved to 25–9, 17–6 against conference opponents and 7–5 against ranked opponents.^[34][35] With 25 wins on the season, May tied Brian Ellerbe for the most total wins in program history by a first-year head coach.^[33] He also became the first officially recognized conference coach to win the Big Ten tournament title in their first season, with the only other being Ellerbe in Michigan's first win in 1998, though that season was later vacated by the NCAA. Michigan finished as Big Ten champions one year after finishing in last place in the conference.^[36] The win earned Michigan the conference's automatic bid to the 2025 NCAA tournament as the No. 5 seed in the South Region. It was May's third consecutive season taking a team to the tournament.^[37]

On March 20, the Wolverines defeated No. 12 seed UC San Diego, 68–65, in the First Round in Denver, Colorado. With 26 wins, May became the winningest first-year head coach in program history.^[38] On March 22, Michigan defeated No. 4 seed Texas A&M in the Second Round 91–79, winning a fifth consecutive postseason game and improving to 27–9. It was May's second Sweet Sixteen appearance in three seasons.^[39] Under his leadership Michigan made history, as no team in the NCAA had ever lost as many games one season before advancing to the Sweet Sixteen of the tournament (since introduced in 1975).^[40] On March 28, Michigan lost to the No. 1 overall seed Auburn in the regional semifinal, 65–78. In May's first season, the Wolverines finished the year 27–10, an increase of 19 wins from the previous season.^[41]

2025–26

To start his second season with Michigan, May recruited one of the nation's best transfer portal classes (No. 2 by 247Sports and No. 3 by ESPN), highlighted by top overall player Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara, Elliot Cadeau and Morez Johnson Jr.^[42] In late November, May led the Wolverines to a championship in the 2025 Players Era Festival. In the tournament, No. 7 Michigan defeated San Diego State by 40 points, No. 21 Auburn by 30 points and No. 12 Gonzaga by 40 points in the championship.^[43] The win against Gonzaga marked the highest margin of victory against an AP ranked opponent in program history, and was the first time in NCAA history that any team outscored AP ranked opponents by 30 or more points in consecutive games.^[44]

On December 8, Michigan was ranked No. 1 in the Coaches Poll for the first time since the Fab Five led 1992–93 Wolverines, and No. 2 in the AP Poll after an 8–0 start to the season.^[45][46] Michigan won their first 14 games of the season and had a 20–1 record after the month of January, including beating No. 7 Michigan State on the road. It marked the Wolverines first win at the Breslin Center since 2018.^[47] On February 11, May earned his 50th program win in 61 games at Michigan, becoming the second-fastest coach to reach the milestone in the Big Ten since 2002.^[48] On February 16, after improving the best start in school history with a 24–1 record, Michigan moved to No. 1 in the AP poll for the first time since the 2012–13 Michigan Wolverines.^[49] On February 24, Michigan clinched a share of the Big Ten regular season championship with a win against Minnesota. It was the Wolverines first Big Ten regular season title since 2021.^[50] On February 27, Michigan secured the outright Big Ten championship against No. 10 Illinois on the road, improving to 17–1 in the conference. The 17 conference wins surpassed a program record of 16 wins set by the 1976–77 and 1984–85 Wolverines.^[50][51]

On March 8, No. 3 Michigan defeated No. 8 Michigan State for a second time, finishing the regular season 29–2 and 19–1 in the conference. The 29 regular season wins are a program record and the 19 conference wins are a Big Ten record, surpassing the previous record set by the 1974–75 and 1975–76 Indiana Hoosiers (18–0). Michigan is the only Big Ten team to have ever won all ten conference road games, and the first to finish undefeated on the road since the 1975–76 Indiana Hoosiers.^[52][53] May was awarded the Big Ten Coach of the Year by members of the media.^[54][55] He was also selected as the national coach of the year, given the Henry Iba Award by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.^[56]