Dusty May has been awarded the 2026 Henry Iba Award for national coach of the year after leading Michigan to its first national title since 1989 and a record 37 wins. The award was presented in St. Louis, recognizing May's significant contributions to the Wolverines' successful season.
The best season in Michigan basketball program history landed Dusty May a prestigious honor.
May was the 2026 recipient of the Henry Iba Award, which is given annually by the United States Basketball Writers Association to its national coach of the year.
The second-year coach received the award on Monday in St. Louis after guiding the Wolverines to their first national title since 1989, a program-record 37 wins, a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time ever and an outright Big Ten regular-season championship.
May credited the players for putting their own goals and ambitions to the side to “do something great together” and his staff for anticipating and getting out ahead of problems as key factors for Michigan’s success.
Dusty May is the third Michigan coach to win the USBWA award.
“It was just a team that everyone was capable of doing so much more than they did, and that's what made it so rewarding,” May said during the USBWA’s college basketball awards ceremony at the Missouri Athletic Club.
“They all could have, at any time, tried to rise above the group, and they never did. They continued to give, to serve and to show love publicly and privately. You see a lot of fake love publicly. … These guys showed more love in private than they did in public and that became contagious.”
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May is the third Michigan coach to win the USBWA award, joining Johnny Orr (1975-76) and Juwan Howard (2020-21), and he's the first Big Ten coach to earn the honor since Howard.
May was also a finalist for the Naismith men’s college coach of the year, which went to Arizona’s Tommy Lloyd, and finished fourth in voting for the Associated Press’ coach of the year, which was won by Nebraska’s Fred Hoiberg.
Lloyd praised May during his acceptance speech, which came a day after Michigan beat Arizona in the Final Four en route to capturing its second national championship in program history.
“Dusty has done an unbelievable job,” Lloyd said. “When they send this award, they’re shipping it home, it’s kind of crazy I got Dusty’s home address on it. He’s deserving to be the coach of the year. He did an incredible job and that’s as good of a well-coached team as I’ve ever played against.”
Several Wolverines, including Trey McKenney and Oscar Goodman, described May as being a “players’ coach.” Harrison Hochberg called May a “basketball junkie” and the best communicator he’s ever been around. For Nimari Burnett and Yaxel Lendeborg, it goes beyond basketball.
“The first thing I noticed about him was he's a good person. He cares for you, and it's not just basketball with him,” Burnett said during the NCAA Tournament. “Because he's a people person, because he comes to us as family … it's a joy to play for him.”
Added Lendeborg: “(He’s the) best coach in college basketball. He's the most genuine guy I've ever met. He cares about all of us individually, not just for our basketball skills.”
That was echoed by assistant coaches Justin Joyner and Drew Williamson. Joyner lauded May for being elite at adapting to his personnel and for being a “modern day partner” with the players.
Williamson, who was on May’s staff at Florida Atlantic before coming to Ann Arbor, described May as someone who has “zero ego” and is constantly wanting to learn.
“His biggest quality to me is his ability to relate every single person within our organization, from the nutritionist to the weight coach to each player,” Williamson said. “He has an unbelievable way to get the best out of you without berating you or overexerting his energy toward it.”
While the award goes to May, it’s one he shares with everyone who was part of a tight-knit team that was closer than any he’s ever coached before.
“I spent the year appreciating those guys,” May said, “because I know how difficult it is for a group like that to come together and do what they did.”
@jamesbhawkins
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan's Dusty May nabs 2026 Henry Iba Award for coach of the year
Dusty May won the Henry Iba Award in 2026 for being the national coach of the year.
Dusty May received the award after guiding Michigan to its first national title since 1989, achieving a program-record 37 wins, and securing a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Henry Iba Award was presented to Dusty May on Monday in St. Louis.
Michigan basketball achieved a record 37 wins under Dusty May in the 2026 season.
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