Michigan basketball officially signs trio of transfers in frontcourt

"Just as important, he's a great teammate and someone who fits exactly what we're building here."

FUTURE WOLVERINE: Quinn Costello 'reinvented himself' as future of Michigan basketball

Estrella played in 33 games with 13 starts and averaged 10 points and 5.4 rebounds in 18.3 minutes per game, scoring 10 or more points 19 times. Estrella proved to be a force down low, shooting 60.4% on 2-pointers with the eighth best offensive rebounding rate (17.3%) in the nation.

Estrella figures to start at power forward, with Thiam a near lock to start at center. Thiam was named All-Big 12 honorable mention last season after starting 31 games for Cincinnati. He ranked second on the team in both scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg) and led the Bearcats with 50 blocks, his second straight season with at least 50 swats.

The 7-foot-2 center scored 10 or more on 21 occasions and had four games of at least 20 points highlighted with three elite games in February, including a 28-point, eight-rebound game in a road upset at No. 8 Kansas.

Cincinnati Bearcats center Moustapha Thiam (52) makes a basket from three point range in the first half of the second round of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Men’s Basketball Tournament between the Cincinnati Bearcats and UCF Knights, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, MO.

As a freshman at UCF, Thiam led the Big 12 and ranked seventh nationally in blocks per game (2.59), finishing fourth nationally with 88 total blocks while setting a UCF freshman record.

"Moustapha is someone we're really excited about," May said in a release. "You don't find many players of his size and ability to move the way he does. He protects the rim, rebounds, runs the floor and changes the game defensively. He's still improving, too, so we're ready to get to work."

Reed joined as an under-the-radar addition to the class after a pair of injury-plagued seasons. Reed started LSU's first eight games of 2024-25 and was putting up a career-best 11.1 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 60.4 percent from the field before he tore his ACL.

He came back in 2025-26 and averaged 9.5 points and 5.7 rebounds while shooting 57.1 percent from the field in six games, before he suffered a season-ending Achilles injury. Prior to that, Reed played in 65 games with 33 starts as an underclassman in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Nov 29, 2024; Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA; LSU Tigers forward Jalen Reed (9) looks to pass the ball against Northwestern State Demons forward Jerald Colonel (2) during the first half at Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

"Despite the challenges of the past two years, Jalen brings experience, toughness and a physical presence to our frontcourt," May said of Reed in a release. "He's shown he can play at a high level, and having someone with that experience is important for our program."

The trio figure to get the bulk of the frontcourt minutes, along with Oscar Goodman and incoming freshman Quinn Costello, who could play some wing but also some minutes at the 4 in a smaller lineup.

The group will have the tall task of trying to replace the best frontcourt in the country last year, led by Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara, all three who are projected first-round picks in ESPN's latest mock draft.

Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball officially signs loaded transfer class