LJ Cason Heads Home to Miami, Becomes Only Wolverine to Walk After Dusty May Exit
When the head man leaves, usually the whole locker room hits the door like it’s a fire drill. LJ Cason kept it simple — he was the only one who packed a bag.
The 6-foot-2 guard committed to the Miami Hurricanes, returning to his home state of Florida after entering the transfer portal following Dusty May’s departure for the Dallas Mavericks. Cason, a Lakeland native who played at Victory Christian Academy, was the only Michigan scholarship player out of 14 to enter the portal during the 15-day window triggered by the coaching change. Every other Wolverine, including national championship returners Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney, opted to stay in Ann Arbor under new head coach Mike Boynton.
Boynton, promoted from interim to full-time on a two-year deal, addressed Cason’s departure on the “Defend The Block” podcast. “That kid’s given this program a lot. He’s a champion. He’ll forever be a champion at the University of Michigan,” Boynton said. “We hope he gets as healthy as possible and continues to be the type of player that we all know he can be.”
Cason’s season ended in late February against Illinois when he tore his ACL. He scored nine points in 13 minutes in that game before the injury cut him down. That was the tail end of what had been a genuine breakout — he’d hit double figures in four of his previous five games, averaging 11.8 points over that stretch. For the full season, Cason posted 8.4 points, 1.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 18.6 minutes per game, shooting 50.3% from the field and 40.2% from three-point range.
The recovery timeline puts him on track for the back half of the 2026-27 season. The NCAA’s adoption of a five-in-five rule, which eliminates medical redshirts, means there’s no administrative reason to hold him back once he’s cleared.
Cason’s path to Ann Arbor was already tangled. He originally committed to May at Florida Atlantic before May took the Michigan job in April 2024 and flipped Cason’s commitment to the Wolverines. When May left for Dallas in June, Cason faced the same decision again — and this time he chose to go home.
His role at Michigan likely would have been uncertain regardless. The backcourt now features senior Elliot Cadeau and a pair of projected first-round talents in Trey McKenney and Brandon McCoy Jr. Michigan sits at 13 scholarship players and is expected to pursue another guard.
Miami, meanwhile, is a different animal entirely under Jai Lucas. The Hurricanes went from 7-24 to 26-9 in Lucas’s first season, finishing No. 24 in the final AP Poll and reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Purdue. Adding a guard who was shooting 40% from deep before his knee gave out — and who has every reason to want to prove something — fits the trajectory in Coral Gables.
Cason was a three-star recruit in the 2023 class, ranked No. 254 overall. The ranking never told the whole story, and the knee doesn’t either. Miami is betting on the version that was averaging nearly 12 a night in February.
Sources:
On3 — Michigan transfer guard LJ Cason commits to Miami
Yahoo Sports / On3 — Michigan transfer guard LJ Cason commits to Miami
Yahoo Sports / Detroit Free Press — Michigan’s L.J. Cason to transfer back home to Miami basketball