The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1544920
36 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JUNE/JULY 2026 2026 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY ANTHONY BROOME U -M entered the offseason need- ing to replace its entire frontcourt, and the staff feels like it got another player with an upward trajectory in J.P. Estrella, who was the first to commit out of the portal three days after the national championship game. The 6-foot-11, 240-pounder spent three seasons at Tennessee and has two years of eligibility remaining since he redshirted due to injury as a sophomore in 2024-25. Estrella is the No. 38 overall player and No. 9 power forward in the NCAA transfer portal, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. The Scarborough, Maine, native averaged 10 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game while appearing in 33 contests with 13 starts for the Volunteers in 2025-26. The Wolverines got an up-close look at Estrella during their 95-62 blowout win over the Vols in the Elite Eight, when he recorded 7 points and 7 rebounds. Lop- sided game result aside, U-M knows the type of player it is getting. "J.P. brings size, toughness and a lot of energy to our frontcourt," head coach Dusty May said after Estrella was an- nounced on April 28. "He knows what it takes to win at a high level and plays the game the right way. He runs the floor, rebounds, competes on every posses- sion and gives us a strong presence around the basket. Just as important, he's a great teammate and someone who fits exactly what we're building here." Assistant coach and general manager Kyle Church expanded on the process behind targeting Estrella, saying the big man's work ethic popped on film to them. "That one moved extremely quickly," Church said. "When you lose your starting [frontcourt], you're going to need some big guys. We saw J.P. up close and got to scout him live, and in another game. Watched a ton of film on him, and his size and mobility jumped right out at you. His motor and his in- tensity and his selflessness, after get- ting on a Zoom [call] or two and just talking on the phone, that his passion for basketball, all that stuff, were ad- ditives to what we saw as the physical characteristics. "And when you really start to study his game, I thought, there's a lot of similarities to Morez [ Johnson Jr.] where you have a big, strong guy. Is he a four? Is he a five? Who really cares? He's a really good basketball player. He's tough. He has a motor. I think he's going to be a good jump shooter, just like we saw Morez develop into. "So, he wanted to move the process along quickly. He's going to graduate in three years from the University of Tennessee, which is incredible. And so as soon as he wanted to come, we were fired up about it, because he's going to be a big piece in the frontcourt." What excites Michigan most about Estrella is how he might help unlock the other pieces on the roster, includ- ing point guard Elliot Cadeau. "Elliot is a cheat code in the pick- and-roll," May said on April 29. "He needs certain things for him to maxi- mize his ability, so that factored into us targeting certain players. For ex- ample, I think J.P.'s ability to pick and pop to pick and roll, but also to be a physical screener, I think we learned from [Purdue's] Trey Kaufman-Renn and [UConn's] Tarris Reed [Jr.]. I think those are the two best screeners we faced all year, and we felt like those guys helped their teammates be even more successful than they would have otherwise been because of their ability to screen." ❑ Estrella averaged 10 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game while appearing in 33 contests with 13 starts for Tennessee in 2025-26. PHOTO BY ANDREW FERGUSON/TENNESSEE ATHLETICS High-Motor Forward Former Volunteer J.P. Estrella Brings Energy, Toughness To Michigan Frontcourt By The Numbers • Estrella was Michigan's first trans- fer portal commit this cycle, pledging on April 9, just three days after the national title win over UConn. • He scored a career-high 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a game against North Carolina last season, along with a 20-point, 10-rebound showing against Vanderbilt. Estrella scored in double fig- ures 19 times in 2025-26. • Estrella led Tennessee with 92 offen- sive rebounds last season and shot 59.6 percent from the field. • He has two seasons of eligibility re- maining after a medical redshirt year in 2024-25, and he appeared in 61 games with 13 starts in Knoxville.