Former Michigan guard Jace Howard medically retires from basketball
Former Michigan Wolverines basketball guard Jace Howard has medically retired from basketball, a move caused by concussions, sources close to the player told TheWolverine.com.
The 6-foot-7, 220-pound Miami, Fla., native spent five seasons with the Wolverines, before transferring to Fordham ahead of the 2025-26 campaign. He appeared in two games — a 72-61 loss to NJIT Nov. 4 and 106-37 win over Mount Saint Mary Nov. 7 — totaling 9 points and 6 rebounds in 20 minutes. Howard made the decision to medically retire this month, the end of his collegiate basketball career.
The son of former Michigan All-American forward (1991-94) and head coach (2019-24) Juwan Howard, Jace played for his father for four seasons and ended his career in Ann Arbor under current head man Dusty May in 2024-25. Juwan Howard is an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets — not far from Fordham, a Jesuit university in New York.
At Michigan, Jace played in 70 games over five seasons, tallying 104 points, 67 rebounds, 12 assists, 5 blocks and 6 steals. Howard was on the team for 95 wins and helped the Wolverines win the outright 2021 Big Ten championship during his freshman campaign, reach the Sweet 16 in 2022, and take home a Big Ten Tournament title and earn a berth to the Sweet 16 in 2025.
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Before the 2024-25 season, Howard discussed his decision to stick with Michigan even after his father was let go as head coach.
“As soon as Coach May got hired, he texted me like 40 minutes [after the news was released] and I thought that was pretty big,” Howard said, according to SB Nation. “How excited he was to be here, how excited he was to coach me if that’s what I wanted to do. Coach Akeem [Miskdeen] and coach May were the first coaches to recruit me out of high school.
“You know that 12 o’clock Midnight hits, and then coaches can start reaching out — Coach ‘Keem was the first coach to text me. My uncle knew coach May and coach ‘Keem. It was something that was able to stick with me, and coach May is one of the personable people I’ve ever met. Him being such a relationship guy and challenging myself to learn a new system, and a new coaches’ philosophy was something I really wanted to do. It was a no-brainer to stay.”