Kyle Church: Five-star Michigan signee Brandon McCoy is 'exactly what a create-a-2K guard should look like'

Michigan Wolverines basketball added three transfers this offseason in center Moustapha Thiam (Cincinnati) and forwards Jalen Reed (LSU) and J.P. Estrella (Tennessee). There are six incoming freshmen, too, but one of them feels like a portal addition to general manager and assistant coach Kyle Church: Five-star+ guard Brandon McCoy, the No. 3 overall recruit in the 2026 class per Rivals.

McCoy famously committed on the ‘Fab Five’ broadcast at halftime of Michigan’s 91-73 Final Four victory over Arizona in which the Wolverines led by 30 points at one juncture — a huge off-the-court win that was cause for celebration in addition to the one on the floor.

The timing, late in the season, and McCoy’s potential impact next season had Church leading with the combo guard when asked about Michigan’s portal additions on the ‘Defend The Block’ podcast.

“Obviously, Brandon McCoy is a high school player, but he almost feels like a portal addition, just given his talent and his ability to impact right away, and also given the timing of his commitment,” he said. “That felt almost like a bonus portal addition.”

Don’t be surprised if McCoy plays a lot or even starts in the backcourt alongside senior Elliot Cadeau and sophomore Trey McKenney next season. The 6-foot-5 versatile piece is the type of springy athlete Michigan rarely gets out of high school, and he’s the Wolverines’ highest-ranked recruit of the Rivals era (since 2003).

“Brandon is a super long, rangy athletic … he’s exactly what a create-a-2K guard should look like,” Church said. “He’s a wonderful young man, excited to be here, excited to come get better. I think he’s as excited about the environment that we’re going to have a lot of fun, we’re going to work really hard, we’re going to play together.”

McCoy also held offers from Alabama, Duke, Kansas, Arizona, Louisville, Tennessee, UCLA, Kentucky, Auburn and many others.

Defense is where McCoy thrives the most, with Rivals’ Jamie Shaw naming the Michigan signee the “most disruptive” player in the 2026 recruiting class.

“Just watching Brandon McCoy play, and he can be equal parts tiring and captivating,” Shaw wrote. “He is a lengthy and twitchy 6-foot-5 guard who flies around the court on the defensive end, guarding the ball for 94 feet, playing aggressively in the passing lanes, and even acting as a weak-side rim protector at times.

“As a senior at Sierra Canyon (CA) School, McCoy averaged 2.2 steals. In his junior season at St. John Bosco (CA) School, he averaged 3.8 per game. He’s earned three FIBA gold medals, and in 20 international games played with the USA Junior National program, McCoy has averaged 1.9 steals. He is the ultimate disruptor on the defensive end. In a Rivals150 with a few disruptors at the top, perhaps none are as loud with it as McCoy.”

Lincoln Cosby an addition ‘with the future in mind’

At one point, Lincoln Cosby was a five-star recruit in the 2027 class. He tore his ACL this past season and is rehabbing, then reclassified to 2026 and will join Michigan while working back from injury.

The 6-foot-9 forward is another unique athlete who, once he gets healthy, could be another foundational piece for the Maize and Blue.

“That one is certainly with the future in mind,” Church said. “Obviously, a super-talented prospect was able to come to college a year early. Coming off the ACL injury, he’ll 99 percent redshirt this upcoming season, and we’ll bring him back slowly.

“Obviously, he’ll have a couple of guys in the training room he can battle with. And they can fight those daily battles with the support of the staff. But he is immensely talented, very, very intelligent and has a really, really big upside.”

Taking an injured player such as Cosby, or even LSU transfer Reed, who tore his Achilles last November, is doable because, as of last season, college teams have 15 roster spots to work with.

“I think one of the rule changes lost in all this is the 15 scholarships going from 13 to 15 scholarships,” the Michigan coach said. “We saw with [redshirt freshman guard/forward Ricky] Liburd] last year, guys that we just identify as having big upsides, whether it’s an injury, maybe just a little bit more of a late bloomer, maybe need to develop their body. There are all sorts of different things, but just identifying guys that maybe just need a little bit more time and come to a program like this that’s going to focus on development, and we’re going to invest in those young guys just as much as we do as our starters. I think you’ve seen it day in and day out.

“With a couple extra roster spots, it gives you some flexibility where you can take more of a long-term look at the individual instead of having to flip over so much, and I think the other thing you have to consider from our point of view, too, is that you can’t bring in 15 guys that are all expecting to be starters. It’s just not possible to play more than nine — if you really want to stretch it, maybe 10 — but to have some guys that are more with the future in mind and keep that continuity is going to be so important.”