Yaxel Lendeborg

Class:
Graduate Student
Position:
F
Height:
6-9
Weight:
240
Hometown:
Pennsauken, N.J.
High School:
Pennsauken HS

Pronunciation
First Name: "yax-ul"
• First name pronounced: YAX-uhl
• Last name pronounced: LEN-deh-borg

Career Highlights
• Consensus All-American (2026)
   • Associated Press All-America (first team)
   • NABC All-America (first team)
   • USBWA All-America (first team)
   • CBS Sports All-America (first team)
   • The Sporting News All-America (first team)
• Big Ten Player of the Year (2026)
   • Big Ten (Coaches & Media), Associated Press, Fox Sports, USA Today
• All-Big Ten, first team (2026)
   • Big Ten (Coaches & Media), Associated Press, Fox Sports, USA Today
• All-Big Ten Defensive Team (2026)
• NABC All-Great Lakes District first team (2026)
   • NABC All-District: first team (2025), second team (2024)
• NCAA Midwest Regional Most Outstanding Player (2026)
• NCAA All-Midwest Regional Team (2026)
• Associated Press Big Ten First-Year Transfer of the Year (2026)
• CBS Sports Transfer of the Year & All-Transfer Team (2026)
• USA Today Big Ten Newcomer of the Year (2026)
• Two-time All-American Conference first team (2024, '25)
• Two-time American Conference Defensive Player of the Year (2024, '25)
• Preseason American Conference Player of the Year and first team (2024-25)
• American Conference Tournament Most Valuable Player (2024)
• Member of the 2026 National Championship Team
   • Defeated No. 2 seed UConn, 69-63, to claim U-M’s second national title
• Helped U-M to a program-record 37-3 record (2025-26)
   • Set records for most wins (37) and fewest losses (3)
• Helped U-M capture the 2026 Players Era Championship in Las Vegas
   • Rolled to three straight 30+ point wins over three days (+36.7 average margin)
   • San Diego State (94-54; +40), No. 21 Auburn (102-72; +30), No. 12 Gonzaga (101-61; +40)
• Helped U-M secure the 2026 Big Ten regular-season title
   • Posted a program- and Big Ten-record 19-1 conference mark
   • Won title by four games, earning No. 1 seed in Big Ten Tournament
   • Went 10-0 in Big Ten road games, first team to do so in 50 years (Indiana, 1976)
• 2026 NCAA Tournament (No. 3 overall seed; No. 1 Midwest seed)
   • First Round: Defeated No. 16 Howard, 101-80
   • Second Round: Defeated No. 9 Saint Louis, 95-72
   • Sweet 16: Defeated No. 4 Alabama, 90-77
       • Seventh straight Sweet 16 appearance
   • Elite Eight: Defeated No. 6 Tennessee, 95-62
       • Fifth Elite Eight appearance in the last 10 tournaments
   • Final Four: Defeated No. 1 Arizona, 91-73
       • Ninth Final Four appearance
   • National Championship: Defeated No. 2 UConn, 69-63
       • First national title in 37 years (since 1989); second in program history
• Led UAB to the 2024 American Conference Tournament title
   • Helped UAB reach back-to-back championship games (2024, '25)
• Led UAB to the 2024 NCAA Tournament, first round
• Led UAB to the 2025 NIT quarterfinal
• One of two Division I all-time to record 600 points, 400 rebounds and 150 assists (2024-25)
   • The first was collegiate basketball legend Larry Bird (Indiana State)
• National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-America DI: second team (2023), third team (2022)
• Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) DI Player of the Year (2022)
• ACCAC DI Defensive Player of the Year (2023)
• ACCAC DI Freshman of the Year (2022)
• ACCAC All-Region DI: first team (2022, '23)
• NJCAA Region I, DI: champion (2023), runner-up (2022)
• ACCAC Champions (2022)

Season: 2025-26 (Michigan)
• Played in all 40 games, with 39 starts
   • One of seven Wolverines to play in all 40 games
• Averaged a team-high 15.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists in 30.1 minutes per game
   • One of four Wolverines to average 10-plus points
   • Posted 31 double figure games, with 10 of 20-plus
       • Season-high 29 points at Maryland (Dec. 13)
   • Posted 31 games of five-plus, with eight of 10-plus
   • Season-high 14 rebounds at Ohio State (Feb. 8)
       • Added seven additional 10-plus rebound games
   • Posted 24 games of three-plus assists, with six of five-plus
       • Season-high nine assists at Maryland
   • Logged 38 games of 20-plus minutes, with 23 of 30-plus
       • Season-high 39 minutes vs. Duke (Feb. 21) in Capital Showcase
• Shot 51.5 percent from the field (200-for-388)
   • Posted 22 games of five-plus field goals, with one of 10 plus
   • Season-high 10 field goals vs. Tennessee (March 29, NCAA)
• Made 67 three-pointers
   • One of four Wolverines to make 60-plus three-pointers on the season
   • Posted 18 games of two-plus three pointers, with one of five plus
   • Career-high-tying five three-pointers against Michigan State (March 8)
• Shot 82.4 percent from the free throw line (136-for-165)
   • Career-high 13 free throws at Michigan State (Jan. 30)
   • Career-high 15 free throw attempts at Michigan State
• Posted seven double-doubles (point-rebound)
   • Six of the seven were away from Ann Arbor
       • at TCU (Nov. 14): 14 points, 10 rebounds
       • Middle Tennessee: 25 points, 12 rebounds
       • vs. Gonzaga (Players Era): 20 points, 11 rebounds
       • at Michigan State: 26 points, 12 rebounds
       • at Ohio State: 14 points, 14 rebounds
       • at Northwestern: 15 points, 12 rebounds
       • vs. Alabama (NCAA): 23 points, 12 rebounds
• Averaged 1.2 blocks per game
   • Season-high three blocks, three times: at TCU, at Maryland, USC (Jan. 2)
• Averaged 1.1 steals per game
   • Recorded a season-best four steals, twice: vs. Gonzaga (Players Era) and Villanova (Dec. 9)

UAB Career
• Played in 72 games, with 68 starts
• Averaged a double-double of 15.8 points and 11.0 rebounds per game over two seasons
• Points: 1,136 (15.8 per game)
   • 25th UAB player to reach 1,000 points; fifth to do it in two seasons
   • Posted 58 double figure games, with 23 of 20-plus and one of 30-plus
   • Scored a career-high 30 vs. East Carolina (March 14, 2025)
• Rebounds: 790 (11.0 per game)
   • Posted 48 double figure rebound games, with two of 20-plus
   • Grabbed a career-high 21 rebounds against Florida Atlantic (Feb. 8, 2024)
• Double-doubles: 45 (point-rebound)
   • UAB program record
   • Junior: 19 (35 games) and senior: 26 (37 games)
• Assists: 229 (3.2 per game)
   • Posted 19 games with five-plus assists
   • Dished a career-high eight (3x): vs. East Carolina, Temple (Feb. 23), Tulane (Jan. 7)
• Blocks: 138 (1.9 per game)
   • Posted five games with five-plus blocks
   • Had a career-high seven blocks at UTSA (Jan. 2)

Season: 2024-25 (UAB)
• Started all 37 games, one of two Blazers to do so
• Averaged a team-best 17.7 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists in 33.6 minutes per game
   • Recorded first 600-plus point season (654)
   • Posted 34 double figure games, with 16 of 20-plus and one 30-plus
       • Career-high 30 points vs. East Carolina (March 14)
   • Recorded first 400-plus rebound season (420); UAB single season rebound record
   • Posted 27 games of 10-plus rebounds, with one of 20-plus
       • Season-high 20 rebounds vs. East Carolina
   • Posted 18 games with five-plus assists
       • Season-high eight assists, three times: East Carolina, Temple (Feb. 23) and Tulane (Jan. 7)
   • Logged 35 games of 25-plus minutes, 29 of 30-plus and five of 40-plus
       • Season-high 44 minutes at UC Irvine (OT, March 26)
• Recorded 26 double doubles (point-rebound)
• Shot a team-best 52.2 percent from the field (238-for-456)
   • Posted 29 games with five-plus field goals and four with 10-plus
   • Career-high 11 against Tulane (Jan. 7)
• Averaged 1.8 blocks per game
   • Posted nine games with three-plus blocks
   • Season-high six blocks against South Florida (Feb. 16)
• Averaged 1.7 steals per game
   • Posted nine games with three-plus steals
   • Career-high five steals vs. East Carolina

Season: 2023-24 (UAB)
• Played 35 games, with 31 starts
   • UAB debut, and first start, against Bradley (Nov. 6): three points, five rebounds and two assists
• Averaged 13.8 points, 10.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists in 30.0 minutes per game
   • Posted 24 double figure games, with seven of 20-plus
       • Season-high 26 points at Tulane (Feb. 25)
   • Posted 21 games of 10-plus rebounds, with one of 20-plus
       • Career-high 21 rebounds against Florida Atlantic (Feb. 8)
   • Posted 17 games of three-plus assists
       • Season-high five assists at Arkansas State (Dec. 9)
   • Logged 31 games of 20-plus minutes, 22 of 30-plus and two of 40-plus
       • Career-high 45 minutes against Florida Atlantic (OT, Feb. 8)
• Recorded 19 double doubles (point-rebound)
• Shot 51.3 percent from the field (157-for-306)
   • Posted 18 games with five-plus field goals, one with 10-plus
   • Season-high 10 at Tulane (Feb. 25)
• Averaged a team-best 2.1 blocks per game
   • Recorded first 70-plus block season (72)
   • Posted 14 games with three-plus blocks
   • Career-high seven blocks at UTSA (Jan. 2)

Arizona Western Career
• Played in 78 games, with 60 starts
• Averaged a double-double with 13.2 points and 11.2 rebounds over three seasons
• Points: 1,026 (13.2 per game)
   • Posted 54 double figure games, with 18 of 20-plus and two of 30-plus
   • Scored a JC-high 31 points against Eastern Arizona (March 4, 2023)
• Rebounds: 870 (11.2 per game)
   • Led the NJCAA in rebounding in 2022-23 (13.0 rpg)
   • Posted 50 double figure rebound games, with three of 20-plus and one of 30-plus
   • Grabbed a JC career-high 31 rebounds against Scottsdale (Jan. 28, 2023)
• Double-doubles: 40 (point-rebound)
   • Freshman: two (14 games), sophomore: 18 (31 games) and junior: 20 (33 games)
• Assists: 175 (2.2 per game)
   • Posted eight games with five-plus assists
   • Dished a JC career-high six assists (2x): Western Wyoming (Nov. 19, 2022), Community Chrisitan (Nov. 2, 2021)
• Blocks: 103 (1.3 per game)
   • Posted three games with five-plus blocks
   • Had a JC career-high six blocks at Glendale CC (Feb. 28, 2023)
• Steals: 93 (1.2 per game)
   • Posted three games with five-plus steals
   • Had a JC career-high six steals at Palo Verde (Nov. 1, 2021)

Season: 2022-23 (Arizona Western)
• Played 33 games, with 26 starts
• Averaged 17.2 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists in 30.0 minutes per game
   • Posted 27 double figure games, 15 of 20-plus and two of 30-plus
       • JC-career-high 31 points against Eastern Arizona (March 4)
   • Posted 23 games of 10-plus rebounds, three of 20-plus and one of 30-plus
       • JC-career-high 31 rebounds (10 offensive, 21 defensive) against Scottsdale (Jan. 28)
   • Posted 10 games of four-plus assists
       • JC-career-high-tying six assists vs. Western Wyoming (Nov. 19)
   • Logged 26 games of 25-plus minutes, 17 of 30-plus, five of 40-plus and one of 50-plus
       • JC-career-high 50 minutes against Scottsdale (2OT, Jan. 28)
• Shot 72.7 percent from field (232-for-319)
• Averaged 1.4 blocks per game
   • JC-career-high six blocks at Glendale (Feb. 28)

Season: 2021-22 (Arizona Western)
• Played 31 games, with 30 starts
• Averaged 12.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists in 30.4 minutes per game
   • Posted 23 double figure games, with three of 20-plus
       • JC-season-high 26 points against Pima (Jan. 19)
   • Posted 22 games of 10-plus rebounds
       • JC-season-high 19 rebounds against Pima
   • Posted 10 games with four-plus assists
       • JC-career-high six assists at Community Christian (Nov. 2)
   • Logged 30 games of 25-plus minutes, with 17 of 30-plus and one of 40-plus
       • JC-season-high 40 minutes against Cochise College (Feb. 28)
• Shot 60.7 percent from the field (142-for-234)
• Averaged 1.5 blocks per game
   • Recorded first 40-plus block season (48)
       • JC-season-high five blocks at Pima (Nov. 17)

Season: 2020-21 (Arizona Western)
• Played 14 games, with four starts
   • Season shortened due to COVID-19 pandemic
   • Junior College debut at Palo Verde (Nov. 1): 15 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks
   • First JC career start at Community Chrisitan (Nov. 2): 10 points, 11 rebounds and six assists
• Averaged 6.1 points, 7.1 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game
   • Posted four double-figure games
       • JC-season-high 12 points
   • Recorded 100 rebounds (42 offensive, 58 defensive)
   • Posted five 10-plus rebound games
       • JC-season-high 12 rebounds at Cochise College (April 4)
   • Logged eight games of 20-plus minutes, with one of 30-plus
       • JC-season-high 34 minutes at Central Arizona (Jan. 30)
• Shot 71.4 percent from the field (35-for-49)