The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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36 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2025 M ichigan's season ended with a 78- 65 loss to Auburn in which the Tigers pulled away in the last 10 min- utes. Head coach Dusty May said in the immediate aftermath he was already working on putting next year's roster together, noting they were in a "com- petitive" position, and he didn't have to wait long to get commitments from some of this year's players. Two — redshirt junior forward Will Tschetter and junior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. — said they'd already made up their minds to return. "Absolutely, I plan on coming back," Gayle said after notching 7 points in 25 minutes in the Sweet 16 loss to the Ti- gers. "Me, personally, I'm more level- headed than any of these guys. I feel like I look at things from a different stand- point. Yes, it sucks that we lost. Nobody wants to have this feeling in the Sweet 16. But to accomplish everything we have this season coming from different places, Coach [May] being a first-year guy, then being able to accomplish the things we have this year, I'm proud of the way our guys fought and came to- gether throughout his year. "It was very hard. I feel like each and every person had to battle through ad- versity throughout the season. We just kind of stuck together. … We were right where we wanted to be, but Auburn had more experience, more veteran guys, and they were able to close out the game." Gayle averaged 9.8 points, 3.4 re- bounds, and 2.2 assists per game, in- c l u d i n g a 2 6 - p o i n t s h ow i n g t h a t sparked the 91-79 second-round vic- tory over Texas A&M. Like Gayle, Tschetter confirmed he'd be back for May's second season at the helm. He only managed 2 points in 11 minutes against Auburn but provided a spark in several games this year, av- eraging 6.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, shooting 47.7 percent from the floor and 35.1 percent from three- point range. He notched a season-high 17 points in a February home win over Oregon and 16 in a Feb. 27 victory over Rutgers. "I don't know anywhere else. Ann Arbor is my home," he said. "Coach May and I have a great relationship … the whole coaching staff. Guys that are around us coming back have a great re- lationship. Why would I go anywhere else?" They both feel they can make an- other run next year if they get the pieces around them. "I feel like we set a foundation for Dusty May's campaign at Michigan, and hopefully in the years to come we ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Five Returnees Should Form The Nucleus Of The 2025-26 Michigan Men's Basketball Team Head coach Dusty May will have five returning scholarship players in the mix next year, including rising sophomore guard L.J. Cason, who came on strong at the end of the season. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL