The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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14 THE WOLVERINE ❱ AUGUST 2025 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS ❱ Student-Athlete Of The Month Senior Men's Basketball Guard Roddy Gayle Jr. Roddy Gayle Jr. navigated his first season at U-M successfully despite a roller-coaster campaign, but he is back in 2025-26 and looking to move into a leadership role. Shortly after U-M's season came to an end in a Sweet 16 loss to Auburn in At- lanta, the former Ohio State transfer was one of the first to announce he would be back for the upcoming season. It had nothing to do with NIL promises or guar- antees of playing time, and everything to do with the relationships he has built and being part of a group with unfinished business. "We didn't know if Nimari [Burnett] was going to return, but I knew that Will [Tschetter] was going to be back, LJ [Cason] was a possibility, Tre [Donaldson] was in talks of coming back," Gayle said on the Defend The Block podcast with Brian Boesch. "Just the coaching staff, and knowing that some of the players were returning, it meant a lot." The core motivation behind his decision to return was a degree from U-M and closing out that chapter of his life. "I wasn't really worried about NIL money," Gayle said. "For me personally, it was more about being at the University of Michigan, such a prestigious school. As far as education, I know that getting that degree was my number one goal. When I started playing basketball at a very young age, that was my number one goal, to get a degree." Gayle, who played in 36 games with 25 starts last year, averaged 9.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. The Wolverines won a Big Ten Tournament championship last year after rallying from a rough patch to close out the regular season. It was a formative experience for him and his teammates. "The foundation that we built here, I want to build upon that and create a legacy," he said. "Being able to hang a banner in Crisler is something that not too many people get to do. … The regular-season championship title was in our hands, and we dropped a few games that we weren't supposed to. "But looking back at it, I'm glad we went through that. I think we all kind of went our separate ways towards the end and were on our own missions. But in Indy, we all just kind of hunkered down and relied on each other more than we ever did. That was the togetherness we needed. It was really big for our March run." Now, he will be one of the leaders on a team that has Big Ten title and national championship aspirations. With a year under his belt in Ann Arbor, he feels like he is positioned better to make an impact in a leadership role. "Physically and mentally, I feel like I'm in a much better place to lead this team," Gayle said. "Especially with the high expectations that we have for this season." — Anthony Broome MICHIGAN'S TOP PERFORMERS Baseball junior Mitch Voit: The standout second baseman was named a third-team All-American by D1Baseball. The Milwaukee native is just the third player in program history and first since 2019 to earn that distinction. He also claimed first-team All-Big Ten and along with all-conference defensive team honors. Voit posted a .346 batting aver- age in 208 at-bats, recording 72 hits with 17 doubles and 14 home runs, and 60 RBI in 56 games. Men's track and field freshman Brendan Herger: The Northville, Mich., native and distance run- ner was recognized as the 2025 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Freshman of the Year. The only freshman to qualify for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 1,500-meter race, Herger finished ninth at nationals, with his 3:47.88 checking in just 0.60 seconds slower than winner Na- than Green of Washington. Herger's performance earned him second-team All-America honors. Men's basketball graduate Vladislav Goldin: He went unselected in the 2025 NBA Draft but, imme- diately after the second round concluded, signed a two-way contract with the Miami Heat. Two-way contracts allow players to split time between the NBA and G League. The Voronezh, Russia, native impressed with his size at the NBA Combine in May, checking in at above seven feet tall without shoes on. His 9-foot, 3-inch standing reach and 7-foot, 5.25-inch wingspan each ranked tied for fourth among all participants. Goldin was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in his lone season in Ann Arbor in 2024-25, averaging 16.6 points, 7 rebounds, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 assists per contest. Women's basketball senior Greta Kampschroeder: The guard out of Naperville, Ill., was tabbed as the Breakthrough Athlete of the Year at The Mai- zies, a set of awards voted on by Michigan student-athletes. Kampschroeder opened only five games in her previous two sea- sons at Michigan, before becom- ing a full-time starter in 2024-25. She scored in double figures in eight games, averag- ing 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds in 23.6 minutes per contest. The 6-foot-1 standout put up 13 points in an NCAA Tournament first-round win over Iowa State, the last victory of her college career. — Clayton Sayfie Gayle — who recorded his 1,000th career point in U-M's final game of the year, the NCAA Sweet 16 loss to Auburn — is returning for his senior season and to earn his degree from Michigan. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL