The Michigan Wolverines, coached by Dusty May, will have their national championship defense bolstered next season by the return of a player who was key to their title berth. On Saturday, May 16, news outlets everywhere confirmed that Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau has officially withdrawn from this year’s NBA Draft, per his agent Drew Gross. Cadeau had until May 27 to rescind his application and keep his college eligibility.
Cadeau’s return is a huge boost for the Wolverines, as several of their key rotation pieces have yet to decide on their futures with the program. Along with Cadeau, junior center Aday Mara and sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr. are also going through the draft process. There is no word yet on whether they’ll be keeping their applications, but they may do so given the rise in their respective draft stocks.
Cadeau first spent two years of his college tenure with the North Carolina Tar Heels before transferring to the Michigan-based program ahead of his junior year. In his lone season with the Wolverines so far, Cadeau averaged 10.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 5.9 assists in around 27.3 minutes per game. He now sets his sights towards helping coach May‘s squad return to the collegiate hoops mountaintop with back-to-back NCAA titles.
Michigan Wolverines insider Alejandro Zuniga confirmed Elliot Cadeau always had intentions of withdrawing
In a report by Andrew Hughes of Yahoo! Sports, Michigan Wolverines insider Alejandro Zuniga confirmed through 24/7 Sports that Cadeau had always intended to withdraw. Despite the positive feedback the West Orange, New Jersey native got from NBA scouts during the draft combine, Cadeau always viewed it as a way to prepare himself for the 2026-27 college basketball season.
“Even as he got feedback from NBA scouts, Cadeau has continued to prepare for his final year in Ann Arbor. As assistant Akeem Miskdeen said earlier this month, the point guard’s feedback helped as the U-M coaching staff pursued Transfer Portal targets after losing Big Ten Player of the Year Yaxel Lendeborg to the NBA, plus the expected departures of Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara,” Zuniga was quoted as saying.
