When Michigan head coach Dusty May made the surprising decision to leave Michigan Basketball for the NBA, it meant the transfer portal would eventually open for players to leave the program this late in the offseason. Almost all of the Wolverines elected to officially stay, with the exception of LJ Cason.
The 6’2 guard spent his first two years at Michigan, coming off averaging 8.4 ppg and 2.4 apg in 18.6 mpg off the bench. When healthy, Cason was one of the best backup guards in the country, shooting 50% from the field and 40% from deep. He had 11 games of double-digit scoring, including 18 points on the road at Northwestern.Â
Unfortunately, Cason suffered a season-ending torn ACL, missing out on Michigan’s postseason run to winning the national title. When assistant Mike Boynton Jr. was given the full-time head coaching job, the rising junior guard elected to enter the transfer portal. And the team he was reportedly linked to has secured his official commitment.
NEWS: Michigan transfer guard LJ Cason has committed to Miami, he told @On3.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) July 21, 2026
The 6-2 sophomore averaged 8.4 PPG last season before suffering a torn ACL in late February. https://t.co/C7vBRmpa2K pic.twitter.com/hLdMqngETP
Cason, a native of Lakeland, Florida, going back close to home makes sense. Miami, under second-year head coach Jai Lucas, has turned back into a contending program and had one of the top offseasons among any ACC team. In the backcourt, they landed Villanova transfer, Acaden Lewis, along with veteran ball-handlers, Quin Berger (Bucknell), Brent Bland (Saint Peter’s), and Nick Dorn (Indiana).
With Cason reportedly set to miss all of next season, the players on the roster doesn’t matter as much. However, Lewis has four more years of eligibility and isn’t a clear-cut NBA Draft prospect to watch. So Cason wouldn’t have a clear path to being the lead guard on the Hurricanes. He could play alongside Lewis in the backcourt for the 2027-28 campaign and that could be the plan for the program, which would be a nice duo to work with in the ACC.
Cason likely caps off a strong offseason campaign for Miami Basketball, landing a quality shooting guard for the future. It could mean that they won’t prioritize a ball-handler in the 2027 class, which is empty at the moment. But with the former Wolverine coming home, there certainly won’t be as much pressure.
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