The Wolverines assembled one of the best frontcourts in college basketball through the transfer portal and rode it to the national championship this past season.
They’ll look to replicate that success with a reloaded unit that features Tennessee forward J.P. Estrella, LSU forward Jalen Reed and Cincinnati center Moustapha Thiam, who all officially signed with Michigan on Tuesday.
Estrella was the first portal addition on April 9, which came three days after Michigan beat UConn in the national title game, followed by Reed and Thiam, who committed on back-to-back days last week.
The trio gives Michigan a transfer class that ranks No. 9 in the nation, per 247Sports, and will help replace the possible departures of Aday Mara and Morez Johnson Jr., who both declared for the NBA Draft and could keep their names in it past the NCAA’s May 27 withdrawal deadline.
Thiam, a 7-foot-2, 250-pounder from Senegal, headlines the group. He’s widely considered a top-15 player and a top-three big man in the portal by national outlets like 247Sports, ESPN, On3 and The Athletic.
He started all 31 games for Cincinnati as a sophomore and ranked second on the team in both scoring (12.8 points) and rebounding (7.1). He led the Bearcats with 50 blocked shots and served as the anchor on a team that ranked No. 10 in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency.
Thiam scored in double figures 21 times, including four 20-point performances. Most of those big outings came late in the season, when showcased his upside and averaged 18.4 points and 10.4 rebounds over the final seven contests. He poured in 28 points at Kansas, had 21 points and 10 rebounds at Texas Tech and recorded 24 points and 15 rebounds against Oklahoma State in consecutive games.
Thiam, who was a full-time starter at UCF as a freshman, also shot 39.1% from 3-point range (9-for-23) during his late-season surge, well above his career number of 29% on 3-pointers.
“Moustapha is someone we’re really excited about,” Michigan coach Dusty May said in a statement. “You don’t find many players of his size and ability to move the way he does. He protects the rim, rebounds, runs the floor, and changes the game defensively. He’s still improving too, so we’re ready to get to work.”
Estrella (6-10) arrives in Ann Arbor after averaging 10 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.3 minutes on a Tennessee team that saw its season end in the Elite Eight to Michigan. He played in 33 games, with 13 starts, shot 59.6% from the field and led the Volunteers — a team that grabbed more of its missed shots than anyone — with 92 offensive rebounds.
He also led Tennessee with five double-doubles, highlighted by a 23-point, 10-rebound effort against North Florida and a 20-point, 10-rebound effort against Vanderbilt.
During his three seasons at Tennessee, Estrella appeared in 61 games and made 13 starts. He was limited to three games during his sophomore year due to a foot injury and received a medical redshirt.
Coming off his best season as a Volunteer, Estrella is rated a top-40 transfer by 247Sports (No. 23), The Athletic (No. 25), ESPN (No. 30) and On3 (No. 39).
“J.P. brings size, toughness and a lot of energy to our frontcourt,” May said. “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 possession 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.”
Unlike Thiam and Estrella, Reed (6-10) doesn’t crack the top 100 in rankings of the best players in the portal by national outlets. That’s largely because his last two seasons at LSU have been cut short due to season-ending injuries.
In 2024-25, Reed started the first eight games, averaged a career-best 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds in 23.6 minutes and shot 60.4% from the field before he went down with a torn ACL in his right knee in early December.
Last season, Reed appeared in six games off the bench, averaged 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds in 18 minutes and shot 57.1% from the field before he suffered a left Achilles injury in late November that required surgery.
Prior to playing 14 games over his final two seasons, Reed appeared in 65 games his first two years with the Tigers. He made 11 starts in 33 games as a freshman and made 20 starts in 32 games as a sophomore. During his career at LSU, he scored in double figures 19 times and shot 37.9% on 3-pointers (22-for-58).
“Despite the challenges of the past two years, Jalen brings experience, toughness, and a physical presence to our frontcourt,” May said. “He's shown he can play at a high level, and having someone with that experience is important for our program.”
Thiam, Estrella and Reed all have two seasons of eligibility remaining. Coupled with Michigan’s incoming six-man freshman class that ranks No. 3 in the nation, they’ll be among the nine new faces on the roster for the 2026-27 campaign.