2026 college basketball season: Michigan’s title defense leads ESPN primer
ESPN’s Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf spotlight Michigan, Florida, UConn and eligibility fights with less than 100 days to tipoff.
By Deshawn Carter · Sports Writer
4 min read
Michigan’s national title defense is the first big hook of the 2026 college basketball season, according to a new ESPN preview by Jeff Borzello and Myron Medcalf, with the Wolverines trying to run it back after a 69-63 championship win over UConn.
The countdown is tight. ESPN says Michigan won the program’s first national championship in 37 years a little more than 100 days ago, and the Wolverines will begin the new season in less than 100 days with a changed operation at the top.
What are the biggest 2026 college basketball season storylines?
ESPN’s list starts in Ann Arbor, where Mike Boynton has replaced Dusty May after May’s surprise move to the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks. Borzello reports May became the first men’s college basketball coach since Larry Brown in 1988 to leave in the offseason immediately after winning a national title.
Michigan’s title team was no soft-touch champ. ESPN notes the Wolverines won the Players Era title in November with a plus-110 scoring margin over three games, had 29 double-digit wins and beat NCAA tournament opponents by an average of 19 points per game.
The catch: ESPN says Michigan’s entire frontcourt left for the NBA as lottery picks. Boynton, who had been May’s assistant for the past two seasons, kept nearly the whole roster together, with Borzello reporting backup guard L.J. Cason was the only player to leave after May’s exit and could miss next season after tearing an ACL in February.
Florida is another monster on the board. Medcalf reports the Gators kept the core of their 2025 championship team intact for a third straight season, with Thomas Haugh back in Gainesville alongside Alex Condon and Rueben Chinyelu.
UConn has its own trophy chase. ESPN says Braylon Mullins, who hit the buzzer-beater that sent UConn past Duke and into the Final Four, returned to school despite being projected as a first-round pick. Medcalf writes that Dan Hurley now has Mullins for a push at a third national title in five seasons.
The NIL era is changing the math. ESPN points to Mullins, Haugh, Tounde Yessoufou and Milan Momcilovic as high-end players whose return or transfer decisions reshaped the national picture. Medcalf reports Yessoufou’s move to St. John’s pushed Rick Pitino’s team into top-10 territory, while Momcilovic’s choice of Kentucky made the Wildcats a top-25 team and SEC contender.
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ESPN says the NCAA’s new age-based model gives athletes five years of eligibility over five seasons. The rule was set for athletes graduating next spring, not those who graduated this past spring, and that split has triggered lawsuits from seniors seeking a fifth year.
Borzello reports an Ohio county judge ruled in favor of 24 athletes in early July, granting a preliminary injunction blocking the NCAA from enforcing the new eligibility rules against players including Xavier’s Filip Borovicanin and potential Cincinnati commit MJ Collins Jr. ESPN says the ruling applies only to that Ohio case but has opened the door for more challenges.
North Carolina is also getting a fresh face with an NBA ring. Medcalf reports Michael Malone, the former Denver Nuggets coach, was working for ESPN in April when he got the call to replace Hubert Davis after what ESPN described as lackluster results across Davis’ five-year tenure.
Kansas brings another watch item: Bill Self’s future. ESPN cites Self’s post-tournament uncertainty after a loss to St. John’s, followed by his announcement a week later that he would return to Lawrence. Medcalf connects Tyran Stokes, described by ESPN as a potential No. 1 pick in the 2027 NBA draft, to Kansas’ hopes of returning to the Final Four.
At Kentucky, Borzello says Mark Pope enters under pressure after a rocky 2025-26 season, but a late roster rebound that included Momcilovic has the Wildcats likely to open inside the top 25. At LSU, Medcalf reports Will Wade is back in Baton Rouge with a thin July roster and big eligibility questions around international players and former Big East Player of the Year RJ Luis.
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.