Dream come true: Aidan Mahaney finally agreed terms with Michigan wolverines…
When guard Aidan Mahaney, a two-time member of the All-WCC First Team, logged onto the transfer site earlier this week, there was instant conjecture that the Michigan Wolverines would get in touch.
It is now official that Dusty May and his team are among the many who have communicated with the gifted guard:
Justin Joyner, the newest assistant coach from Michigan, worked closely with Mahaney at Saint May’s for the previous two seasons and was his top recruit coming out of high school.
Mahaney stated in a 2021 interview with 247sports, “(Head) coach Randy Bennett and (assistant) coach Justin Joyner have been my coaches around me since I was a baby so definitely a special relationship there.”
Now leaving Bennett and the Gaels behind, it could make sense for Mahaney to follow Joyner to Ann Arbor based on their connection.
Mahaney has been a starter since joining St. Mary’s, being in the starting lineup in 60 of his 69 games played. He was named the WCC Freshman of the Year after shooting 40 percent from deep and scoring 13.9 points per game.
He started 2023-24 in a bit of a slump, but still finished as a member of the WCC First Team converting 38.6 percent of his shots and 35.5 percent of his three-pointers.
Mahaney is one of the biggest names in the portal now with his two years of eligibility remaining. According to a report from Fox Sports’ Aaron Torres, more than 150 schools called the St. Mary’s transfer on Tuesday night, including Duke, UNC, Kentucky and UConn.
It will be interesting to see how NIL plays into his recruitment compared to relationships. Michigan may be the best of both worlds for Mahaney and should be in a good spot to have more conversations with him throughout this process.