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Yaxel Lendeborg reveals his Michigan jersey number: UAB transfer makes a change

clayton-sayfieby: Clayton Sayfie05/29/25CSayf23
Yaxel Lendeborg
Yaxel Lendeborg on his visit to Michigan Wolverines basketball. (Photo by Michigan photography)

Michigan Wolverines basketball transfer commit Yaxel Lendeborg withdrew from the 2025 NBA Draft to play the 2025-26 season in Ann Arbor. The team will assemble in the middle of June for summer workouts ahead of a campaign with sky-high expectations, with the Maize and Blue currently holding the fifth-best odds to win the national championship on FanDuel.

Based on a post on his Instagram story, Lendeborg will wear the jersey number 23 at Michigan, after donning No. 3 the past two seasons at UAB and previously while starring in JUCO at Arizona Western.

That comes after Lendeborg took his official visit photos in No. 3 while in Ann Arbor in late April. North Carolina point guard transfer Elliot Cadeau — the first transfer commitment of the offseason for Michigan — also took photos in No. 3 while on his trip to U-M.

Lendeborg will be the first Michigan player to wear No. 23 since Gregg Glenn III in 2022-23. Glenn transferred out of the program after one season (Tulane). Prior to Glenn, forward Brandon Johns Jr. had No. 23 from 2019-22.

Prominent Michigan players to wear No. 23 include Caris LeVert (2012-16), Brent Petway (2003-07) and Maurice Taylor (1994-96).

The 6-foot-9, 240-pound Lendeborg’s decision to wait a year on the NBA is a huge win for Michigan. A projected first-round pick, the UAB transfer was the highest-ranked prospect to withdraw from the draft, checking in at No. 26 overall according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony. No other prospects who withdrew were listed in Givony’s top 30, meaning they were likely second-round selections.

Lendeborg wasn’t just looking for a projection — he wanted a promise from an NBA team that he would be taken in the first round. He had no problem returning to college basketball to play for Michigan if he didn’t get it.

“When I working out with NBA teams, working through that whole process talking with teams, they pretty much assured me, or reassured me, that even if I was to go to Michigan, the majority of them would still be with me and it wouldn’t hurt my draft stock,” Lendeborg told The Birmingham Banner.

“It was sort of a very clear decision for me because nobody really promised or guaranteed me that first round. There were a lot saying I would be first round but none would guarantee it was them at that moment.”

Lendeborg is one of four transfers to join Michigan this offseason, along with Cadeau, Illinois forward Morez Johnson Jr. and UCLA center Aday Mara.

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