Jaelin Llewellyn gets medical redshirt waiver approved by NCAA, will return to Michigan

There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding the Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball team at the moment, but now we know at least one guard will be returning.

A spokesperson for the team has confirmed veteran point guard Jaelin Llewellyn’s medical waiver has been approved by the NCAA, meaning he’ll be returning to Michigan for his final year of eligibility.

Llewellyn appeared in eight games for the Wolverines last season, beginning the year as the starting point guard and averaging 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 26.5 minutes per game. His season was cut short after he tore his ACL in the loss to Kentucky in London, but he has said to 247Sports that he expects to be back on the court by September and ready to return by the start of the 2023-24 season.

Before coming to Michigan, Llewellyn played with the Princeton Tigers for three seasons. In his final season in the Ivy League, he averaged 15.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game while shooting 49.5 percent from the field, 38.6 percent from three and 68 percent from the free throw line.

This is great news for a Michigan team that has seen several players leave through the portal or for the NBA Draft. Llewellyn only played eight games last season and didn’t look great in those games, but having him back on the team provides continuity and a veteran guard, which is very valuable in college basketball these days.

The Wolverines struggled with back court depth this past season, but all of a sudden they have a lot of it. In terms of guys who can play the 1 or 2, Michigan now has Llewellyn and Dug McDaniel returning, along with transfer portal additions Caleb Love and Nimari Burnett and Michigan’s lone 2023 commit, George Washington III.

We’ll have more on Michigan’s depth in the coming days, but Llewellyn returning is great news heading into the weekend.