When Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg gutted through 36 minutes on a sprained MCL to help the Wolverines beat UConn 69-63 for the 2026 national championship, he capped off one of the most improbable paths in college basketball history — and a masterclass in what the transfer portal, junior college basketball, and sheer determination can do for an athlete’s career.
Six years ago, Lendeborg wasn’t on a single recruiting radar. He had no stars, no offers, and no highlight tape. Today he’s a consensus first-team All-American, Big Ten Player of the Year, and a national champion headed for the NBA Draft. His story is a blueprint for every athlete — and every family — trying to navigate the recruiting process.
How Academic Ineligibility Derailed Lendeborg’s High School Basketball Career
Lendeborg was born in Puerto Rico to two former Dominican Republic national basketball team players, so the athletic DNA was always there. His family moved to Ohio when he was two, then relocated to Pennsauken Township, New Jersey when he was eight. He enrolled at Pennsauken High School expecting to play basketball.
It didn’t happen. Lendeborg was cut from the freshman team mid-season because his grades didn’t meet eligibility requirements. As a sophomore and junior, he remained academically ineligible and never suited up. By his own admission, he spent those years playing NBA 2K, sleeping through class, and assuming things would work themselves out.
The turning point came before his senior year when his mother, Yissel Raposo, discovered he wasn’t on track to graduate. She enrolled him in a dual-enrollment program at Camden County College — driving him there every morning before work — and his grades improved enough to finally join the Pennsauken varsity squad. He played just 11 games as a senior, helping the team go 10-1 before a first-round playoff exit. He had no recruiting profile. No scholarship offers. His organized basketball career appeared to be over.
The JUCO-to-D1 Pipeline: How Arizona Western College Changed Everything
Lendeborg’s mother refused to let the story end there. Through a connection to a DePaul assistant coach, word reached the staff at Arizona Western College in Yuma, Arizona — an NJCAA program that happened to have one open scholarship because of COVID-19 roster disruptions. The coaching staff offered it to Lendeborg based on limited film. He didn’t want to move across the country, but his parents made him go. It’s the kind of story that illustrates how getting recruited for college basketball often comes down to one contact, one phone call, one coach who takes a chance.
It was the best decision of his life. At Arizona Western, basketball finally became Lendeborg’s sole focus, and his game exploded:
- Freshman year (2020-21): 14 games, 6.1 points, 7.1 rebounds per game — a raw, developing big man.
- Sophomore year (2021-22): 31 games, 12.0 points, 11.0 rebounds per game. Led his conference in rebounding. Named an NJCAA All-American and ACCAC Player of the Year.
- Junior year (2022-23): 17.2 points, 13.0 rebounds per game — leading the entire NJCAA in rebounding. Back-to-back ACCAC Player of the Year. Ranked No. 9 in the JUCORecruiting.com Top 100.
Three seasons in the Arizona desert transformed an unranked, unknown kid from New Jersey into one of the most coveted JUCO prospects in the country.
From NJCAA to NCAA Division I: Lendeborg’s Breakout at UAB
In April 2023, Lendeborg transferred to the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The jump from NJCAA to NCAA Division I is one of the hardest transitions in college sports — and Lendeborg made it look seamless.
Over two seasons with the Blazers, he put up dominant numbers: 13.8 points and 10.6 rebounds as a junior, then 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game as a senior. He became one of only two players in NCAA Division I history to record 600+ points, 400+ rebounds, and 150+ assists in a single season — the other being Larry Bird. He won back-to-back AAC Defensive Player of the Year awards and set the UAB program record with 45 career double-doubles.
His breakout performance in the 2025 AAC Tournament — 30 points, 20 rebounds, 8 assists, 5 steals, and 4 blocks against East Carolina — announced to the basketball world that Lendeborg was ready for the biggest stage.
The Transfer Portal Pays Off: Lendeborg Leads Michigan to the 2026 National Championship
After entering both the transfer portal and the 2025 NBA Draft, Lendeborg ultimately chose to play his final college season at Michigan under Dusty May — a coach who’d seen Lendeborg’s dominance firsthand when May’s Florida Atlantic team was on the receiving end of a 17-point, 21-rebound performance from the big forward.
At Michigan, Lendeborg’s role changed. Surrounded by NBA-caliber teammates like Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr., he shifted from double-double machine to versatile wing, increasing his three-point volume while cutting turnovers. He was named a preseason All-American, then backed it up by earning consensus first-team All-American honors, Big Ten Player of the Year, and Big Ten All-Defensive team selection while averaging 15.1 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists.
His signature moment came in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal, where he drilled a game-winning three-pointer with 0.4 seconds remaining against Wisconsin. He was named Midwest Regional MVP in the NCAA Tournament and became the first Michigan player to score 20+ in three consecutive tournament games since Juwan Howard in 1994.
Then, in the national championship game against UConn, Lendeborg played through the MCL sprain and ankle injury he’d suffered in the Final Four win over Arizona. In a remarkably candid halftime interview with TNT’s Tracy Wolfson, he admitted: “I feel awful. I feel super weak right now. I can’t make anything.” But he vowed to push through, saying he planned to do whatever he could at halftime to come back out more aggressive. He played all 36 minutes — six more than any teammate — and finished with 13 points and a block as Michigan held on 69-63 to win its first national title since 1989.
What Lendeborg’s Recruiting Journey Means for Student-Athletes and Families
Yaxel Lendeborg’s journey is the perfect illustration of why families should never count an athlete out — and why understanding the full landscape of college athletics matters:
The JUCO path is real. Lendeborg spent three seasons at an NJCAA program and used that time to develop his body, his skills, and his academics. The junior college basketball pathway isn’t a consolation prize — it’s a legitimate route to the highest level of college basketball and, ultimately, the NBA.
The college basketball transfer portal changes careers. Lendeborg played at three different schools before landing at Michigan. Each stop served a purpose: Arizona Western for development, UAB for D-I credibility, and Michigan for the championship stage. The modern transfer portal means a recruit’s first school doesn’t have to be their last.
Academics matter from day one. Lendeborg lost three years of high school basketball to poor grades. Families who stay on top of academic eligibility give their athletes the widest possible range of opportunities.
Coaching connections open doors. A phone call from a DePaul assistant to an Arizona Western assistant — based on a social media clip — is the only reason Lendeborg got his JUCO opportunity. For families figuring out how to get recruited for college basketball, the lesson is clear: building relationships with coaches at every level is critical, and having access to accurate, up-to-date coaching contact information can make all the difference.
It’s never too late. Lendeborg played 11 games of varsity high school basketball. He was unranked, unrecruited, and unnoticed. Six years later, he’s a national champion and a projected first-round NBA Draft pick.
At ContactCollegeCoaches.com, we provide up-to-date coaching contact databases for over 30 sports across every college division — NCAA DI, DII, DIII, NAIA, NJCAA, and more. Whether your athlete is a five-star recruit or an unranked prospect looking for their JUCO lifeline, the first step is getting in front of the right coaches. Start your search today.
