CJ Moore has jumped into 2026 before the transfer portal even opens Tuesday, publishing a way-too-early men’s college basketball top 25 and making one thing plain: the comings and goings in April will reshape the preseason picture for 2026-27. He said he will keep updating the rankings periodically until the season starts, but his first pass already puts Michigan and Illinois in the mix.
For Illinois, Moore listed a projected starting five of Portal TBD, Jake Davis, Andrej Stojakovic, David Mirkovic and Tomislav Ivisic, with Zvonimir Ivisic, Ty Rodgers, Brandon Lee and Jason Jakstys among the notable returners. The newcomers are Quentin Coleman, Lucas Morillo, Ethan Brown and Landon Davis. Moore said there is not a lot of work left for the Illini, but added they should go find a point guard. He also noted that Rodgers has missed the last two years and said Mirkovic is going to have the ball in his hands and is already one of the most unique scorers and creators in the country.
Moore’s framing matters because this is not a final roster exercise. It is a map of what could happen once portal decisions and NBA calls begin to land. The rankings are provisional by design, and the article uses 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings for the newcomers, which gives the projections a baseline but not a finish line.
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Michigan, meanwhile, was listed with Elliot Cadeau, Brandon McCoy Jr., Trey McKenney, Portal TBD and Aday Mara in the projected lineup, with Oscar Goodman, Malick Kordel, Winters Grady and LJ Cason as returners and Quinn Costello, Lincoln Cosby, Joseph Hartman, Malachi Brown and Marcus Moller as newcomers. Moore said the Wolverines’ ability to repeat could depend on what happens with Mara and Morez Johnson Jr., and said both could leave for the NBA. If one returns, he wrote, Michigan would be a title favorite again. He said he is betting on Mara to come back, and added that Dusty May can find another elite big in the portal.
That is where the uncertainty lives. Moore gave Michigan the nod in part because of a roster that already has pieces in place, but also because of what is not settled yet. McCoy, who once was considered one of the best talents in his class, gives the Wolverines another high-end name to work with. Whether that group becomes a contender or something more modest may turn on the same spring decisions that will recast the entire sport.
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Moore’s top 25 is a snapshot, not a verdict. He made that clear by publishing early and promising updates as the portal and the NBA draft process sort the field. For now, though, Michigan and Illinois are the first two programs giving his 2026 27 college basketball projection shape, and both still have unfinished business.
