Five-star Michigan basketball recruiting target Trey McKinney sets commitment date

The Dusty May era of Michigan basketball is set to begin in under a week with an exhibition between the Wolverines and Oakland University on Sunday, but U-M’s new head coach and his staff may be on the verge of landing a massive win on the recruiting trail in the weeks ahead as well.

Five-star Flint (Mich.) St. Mary’s combo guard Trey McKenney recently trimmed his list of prospective schools down to a ‘Top 3′ of Michigan, Georgetown and USC, and we now know when the 6-foot-4, 225-pounder will make a final decision. According to 247Sports’ national recruiting analyst Dushawn London, McKenney is set to announce his commitment on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Michigan enters the 2024-25 basketball season with an almost entirely new roster, as May brought in several transfers and high school prospects to begin his rebuild in Ann Arbor. May is still seeking his first recruiting win in the 2025 class, and McKenney would be a home run on the trail for U-M’s first-year coach.

According to 247Sports Composite rankings, McKenney is considered the No. 20 overall prospect, No. 3 combo guard and No. 1 player from the state of Michigan in his class. The Flint native has garnered 35 Division I scholarship offers, including one from in-state rival Michigan State. Prior to May being hired, the Wolverines were a distant afterthought in McKenney’s recruitment, but May made the five-star guard a priority as soon as he arrived in Ann Arbor.

Here’s how 247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein evaluated McKenney this past summer:

McKenney is a big-bodied scoring guard and unique backcourt match-up because of his very broad frame and massive 6-foot-9 wingspan. He plays with an aggressive scoring mentality and has an advanced understand of how to leverage his body type within his attack. He’s powerful, physical, crafty, has a great left-hand, and is also very adept at scoring over top of contesting defenders in the mid-range area.

While McKenney can have a high-volume approach, and settle for too many tough-twos at times, he’s actually an underrated initiator when he’s allowed to play with the ball in his hands. He has clear potential playing out of ball-screens and some instinctive feel for the game to match his sheer power.

McKenney is an excellent free-throw shooter (92%), but doesn’t get there quite enough to take full advantage, especially given his body type. His shooting stroke isn’t quite as natural from long range, but he’s shown some clear progress and made 36% on just under 6 attempts per game in the EYBL.

Defensively, he’s typically willing to compete, but sometimes limited by a lack of lateral quickness. That footspeed is going to be tied to continuing to make strides with his conditioning, albeit without shrinking his frame too much, since that is such a critical part of his identity. McKenney is also an excellent rebounding guard.

Following Sunday’s exhibition with Oakland, Michigan will host Toledo for the C.S. Mott Childern’s Hospital charity exhibition on Friday, Oct. 25. The Wolverines will then begin their regular season on Nov. 4, hosting Cleveland State at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.

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