The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1546678
OCTOBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 43 ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL RECRUITS STILL HIGH ON MICHIGAN One of the challenges Boynton and his staff have encountered early is having to recruit despite not having a guarantee of a second season. He has stipulations he needs to meet to earn a second year, and while he's fine with it, recruits will have questions. When it comes down to it, Boynton said, there are no excuses at a place like Michigan. "That's a part of it, too," he said. "We should still be able to attract guys like we've had, whether it be high-end tal- ent or unselfish guys who fit what we're about … who we want to be, how we want to play. If you do that, you have a chance to continue the momentum." And they brought two visitors in who could certainly help in the future. Though they're still working on the 2027 class, Boynton and staff hosted a pair of 2028 recruits who are among the best in the country the weekend of the reunion, and both visits reportedly went "fantas- tic," per those close to it. Dylan Betts, a 7-foot-4 center at Bra- denton (Fla.) IMG Academy and the No. 8 overall player in the 2028 Rivals150, played for the Legynds program on Nike's EYBL U-16 circuit and averaged 12.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game, shoot- ing 54.2 percent from the floor. "I have a pretty good relationship with them, even after Coach May left," Betts said. "He did what was best for him, so that's good. But I don't really care about that; it doesn't change my mind about them at all. I still have a good mindset about them and what they have done with big men, and I really like their school, too. "I especially like how they developed Aday Mara. He was a lottery pick in the NBA Draft this year, which proved a lot to me. They think I play like Mara, coming off the pick-and-roll and how I can be an anchor of the defense, and how easy it is to just throw the ball up to me and get a dunk or a layup." Betts will visit Illinois (Sept. 18), North Carolina, (Sept. 25) and Alabama (Oct. 9) this fall, as well. "I want to go to a school, play for a coach who cares about you off the court and on the court … like they care about your mental health and everything," he said. "I want to have a connection with the team and play for someone who plays through their bigs." Brady Pettigrew, a five-star, 6-3, 185-pound combo guard out of Boling- brook (Ill.) High and the nation's top pros- pect at his position, played for Brad Beal Elite this summer and led the Peach Jam 16U division with 23.6 points per game, shooting 47.2 from the field and 46.2 per- cent from three. He also averaged 5,0 re- bounds, 2.4 steals and 2.0 assists a game. "Pettigrew is an electric scorer," Rivals national recruiting analyst Jamie Shaw said this summer. "He can self-create space, and he is comfortable, and on bal- ance, rising up from all three levels. Petti- grew has solid size and he has nice touch, and while his eyes are firmly planted on the rim, he knocks them down efficiently." North Carolina, Illinois and Kentucky are some of the programs he's consider- ing, but Michigan made a great impres- sion. There's been a lot of smoke that he could reclassify to 2027, too, making the outstanding visit even more critical. ❏ 2026-27 MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Date Time Site Opponent Location Oct. 11 TBA Home Eastern Mich. (ex) Ann Arbor, Mich. Oct. 16 TBA Home Oregon State (ex) Ann Arbor, Mich. Oct. 25 TBA Neut. Houston (ex) Grand Rapids, Mich., The Battleground 2k26 Nov. 2 TBA Home Oakland Ann Arbor, Mich. Nov. 6 TBA Neut. UConn Boston, Mass., TD Garden, Naismith HOF Series Nov. 11 TBA Home Marquette Ann Arbor, Mich. Nov. 15 TBA Home William & Mary Ann Arbor, Mich. Nov. 21 TBA Neut. Villanova Philadelphia, Pa. | Xfinity Mobile Arena Nov. 24 TBA Neut. Creighton Las Vegas, Nev. | T-Mobile Arena, Players Era 16 Nov. 26 TBA Neut. TCU/Miami Las Vegas, Nev. | T-Mobile Arena, Players Era 16 Nov. 27 TBA Neut. Players Era TBD Las Vegas, Nev. | T-Mobile Arena, Players Era 16 Nov. 28 TBA Neut. Players Era Final* Las Vegas, Nev. | Michelob ULTRA Arena Dec. 1 TBA Home Mississippi Valley St. Ann Arbor, Mich. Dec. 5 TBA Neut. Louisville Detroit, Mich. | Little Caesars Arena Dec. 9 TBA Away Rutgers Piscataway, N.J. Dec. 12 TBA Home Northwestern Ann Arbor, Mich. Dec. 21 TBA Home Detroit Mercy Ann Arbor, Mich. Dec. 30 TBA Home Toledo Ann Arbor, Mich. Jan. 2 TBA Home Washington Ann Arbor, Mich. Jan. 5 TBA Away Nebraska Lincoln, Neb. Jan. 8 TBA Home Purdue Ann Arbor, Mich. Jan. 12 TBA Home Minnesota Ann Arbor, Mich. Jan. 16 TBA Away Indiana Bloomington, Ind. Jan. 19 TBA Home Oregon Ann Arbor, Mich. Jan. 23 TBA Away USC Los Angeles, Calif. Jan. 26 TBA Away UCLA Los Angeles, Calif. Jan. 30 TBA Home Ohio State Ann Arbor, Mich. Feb. 6 TBA Away Wisconsin Madison, Wis. Feb. 9 TBA Home Illinois Ann Arbor, Mich. Feb 13 TBA Home Michigan State Ann Arbor, Mich. Feb. 16 TBA Away Minnesota Minneapolis, Minn. Feb. 20 TBA Home Iowa Ann Arbor, Mich. Feb. 23 TBA Away Penn State State College, Pa. Feb. 26 TBA Away Michigan State East Lansing, Mich. Mar. 4 TBA Home Maryland Ann Arbor, Mich. Mar. 7 TBA Away Ohio State Columbus, Ohio Mar. 9 TBA Neut. Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Big Ten Tournament, First Rd. Mar. 10 TBA Neut. Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Big Ten Tournament, Second Rd. Mar. 11 TBA Neut. Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Big Ten Tournament, Third Rd. Mar. 12 TBA Neut. Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal Mar. 13 TBA Neut. Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Big Ten Tournament, Semifinal Mar. 14 TBA Neut. Big Ten Tournament Indianapolis, Big Ten Tournament, Final