Yaxel Lendeborg career timeline: How Michigan star went from JUCO to Final Four appearance

· Yahoo Sports

Yaxel Lendeborg career timeline: How Michigan star went from JUCO to Final Four appearance originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Yaxel Lendeborg has helped Michigan reach the 2026 Final Four. He was instrumental in helping the Wolverines earn a No. 1 seed for the 2026 NCAA Tournament, but this is only his first season at a Power 4 school.

Visit fishroad-app.com for more information.

Lendeborg got his start at junior college, attending Arizona Western for three years. He then transferred to UAB for two years, and used his last year of eligibility from the COVID-19 pandemic to play at Michigan for the 2025-2026 season. Lendeborg has had a tumultuous basketball journey. He made his high school team as a freshman but was cut for poor academic performance. 

He missed his sophomore and junior seasons due to academic struggles. After transferring to a dual-enrollment program at Camden County College, he raised his grades enough to play 11 games of varsity basketball. 

Lendeborg wasn't able to turn his late-blossoming basketball success into a Division I offer, but went the JUCO route and was motivated enough to work his way up to Michigan. 

Here is more on Lendeborg's college basketball career. 

MARCH MADNESS HQ:Live NCAA bracket | TV schedule | Latest news and more

Yaxel Lendeborg career timeline

Arizona Western (2020-2023)

Lendeborg started showing off his basketball potential at Arizona Western. As a freshman, he played in 14 games and averaged 6.1 points and  7.1 rebounds. As a sophomore, he played in 31 games and averaged a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. He was named a National Junior College Athletic Association All-American and was the Arizona Community College Player of the Year. 

In his final JUCO season, Lendeborg was again named the Arizona Community College Player of the Year and averaged 17.2 points and 13 rebounds per game. When he left Arizona Western, he was the program's all-time leading rebounder. 

UAB (2023-2025)

In his first season with UAB, Lendeborg played against Dusty May, who would later become his coach at Michigan. Against May's Florida Atlantic, he had 17 points and had a career-high 21 rebounds. In his first season, Lendeborg was the American Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Year. 

In his second season for the Blazers, he dominated East Carolina to the tune of 30 points, 20 rebounds, eight assists, five steals and four blocks. For the second consecutive year, he was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Year. Lendeborg became just the second player ever to have more than 600 points, 400 rebounds and 150 assists, joining only Larry Bird. 

With one year of eligibility remaining, Lendeborg opted not to declare for the 2025 NBA Draft and instead entered the transfer portal and committed to Michigan. 

Michigan (2025-present)

Lendeborg was projected as a late first-round pick, but decided to withdraw from draft consideration and join the Wolverines. After a dominant season, he was named the Big Ten player of the Year, the first Michigan player to win the award since 2014. Lendeborg was a first-team All-American, and when Michigan won the Midwest Region in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, he was named the region MVP. 

Yaxel Lendeborg career stats

Here is a look at Lendeborg's per-game career stats from his start at JUCO all the way through to his final year at Michigan. 

SeasonTeamGamesStartsMinutesPointsReboundsAssistsBlocksStealsFG%3FG%FT%2020-21Arizona Western14419.26.17.10.60.60.571.4%0%55.2%2021-22Arizona Western313030.412.011.02.61.51.260.7%35.7%72.2%2022-23Arizona Western332630.017.213.02.61.41.572.7%43.8%64.7%2023-24UAB353130.113.810.62.12.10.751.3%33.3%80.0%2024-25UAB373733.617.711.44.21.81.752.2%35.7%75.7%2025-26Michigan383730.415.27.03.31.31.252.0%37.2%81.6%

Read full story at source