Michigan's 'under the radar' wing Ricky Liburd to return in 2026-27

Another Michigan basketball player is staying put.

Ricky Liburd, a rising sophomore wing, has decided to stay in Ann Arbor for the 2026-27 season after redshirting his first year on campus, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein.

Liburd is the second player to make that decision on Monday, July 6, joining incoming freshman center Marcus Moller. The roster decisions have been pouring in the past few weeks after former coach Dusty May left for the Dallas Mavericks and assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. was named the interim head coach.

Job No. 1 for Boynton was to keep the roster intact and at this point he’s done a fantastic job. Eleven of U-M’s 14 scholarship players have decided to stay on hand, with L.J. Cason, Oscar Goodman and Quinn Costello the lone pieces who’ve yet to announce a decision.

Boynton was a guest on the Free Press’ “Hail Yes!” podcast earlier this offseason and spoke highly of Liburd as an unheralded potential contributor for next season after he spent a season running scout team and learning the system behind the scenes.

“He’s flown under the radar as much as anybody because he was new to our program and didn’t play at all,” Boynton said. “He’s a guy who’s got the ability to both defend one-through-four from his size, quickness, strength, physicality and he can also play offensively in any of our perimeter spots, as well.

“He can be a floor-spacer, he can be a shot-creator, he’s a guy who’s really good on the move as a cutter and offensive rebounder.”

Now, he’s officially back in the fold.

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’s ‘under the radar’ wing Ricky Liburd to return in 2026-27