Michigan basketball wing Winters Grady enters NCAA transfer portal

Michigan Wolverines basketball guard/forward Winters Grady has entered the NCAA transfer portal. The 6-foot-6, 210-pounder spent one year at U-M and has four seasons of eligibility remaining, as long as he is granted a medical hardship waiver for the 2025-26 campaign.

The Tualatin, Ore., native competed in nine games for Michigan in 2025-26, but was shut down for the season with a foot injury and made his last appearance Jan. 2 against USC.

“I’ve had ongoing foot issues since really my freshman year,” Grady, a former four-star recruit, said on the ‘Go Blue Hoops’ podcast in February. “I fractured my foot, and it never fully recovered. I ended up playing on it through the summer after the fracture. It never fully recovered, and I’ve just had to kind of battle that since. It’s just been on and off. I’ve been in and out of practice, just kind of trying to figure it out. I’m going to have to do what I have to do in the summer — whatever that may be — with the foot.”

Grady averaged 2.9 points, 1.1 rebounds and 0.2 assists in 6.2 minutes per contest. He shot 1-of-1 on twos and 6-of-19 from three-point distance.

Grady’s expectation entering his Michigan career was not to redshirt, but the Wolverines became an elite team that finished 37-3 with a national championship, and he dealt with foot issues.

“No, I came here under the impression that I was going to play,” he said. “Obviously, I mean, we didn’t know we were going to be the No. 1 team in the country when I committed here. And so, obviously, things change, and you’ve got to do what’s best for the team and whatever the coaches think is best. But, no, I wasn’t initially planning on it.”

Committing to Michigan because of his relationships with the coaches, Grady forged strong bonds with head man Dusty May and assistant Justin Joyner, who recently accepted the head-coaching spot at Oregon State.

“I really loved the coaching staff,” Grady said. “That’s really what it came down to, to me. There’s all this external talk in the recruiting process, and I really liked how straightforward Michigan was with me, just with what they wanted from me and how they envisioned me and how I can develop. That’s really what stood out to me, to be honest. On my visit, I just kind of fell in love with the place. I loved Ann Arbor. I loved the vibe and all the fans around. It’s just a great college atmosphere that I’m excited to be a part of.