ANN ARBOR, Mich. — North Carolina transfer guard Caleb Love is no longer committed to Michigan and has reopened his recruitment, making him among the best available players currently available in the NCAA transfer portal.
Love committed to join Juwan Howard and the Wolverines last month, but an issue related to his credits prevented admissions from allowing him to transfer to Michigan, leaving him without any option other than to jump back into the portal.
Love is a former five-star combo guard who averaged 16.7 points for the Tar Heels last season, and his loss is another devastating blow for the Wolverines who are already without Hunter Dickinson, Jett Howard, and Kobe Bufkin from last year's roster.
For Love, it represents another foray into the portal, where he will have no shortage of suitors around the NCAA.
Here are four teams that make sense as a potential Caleb Love destination following his departure from Michigan.
1. Indiana Hoosiers
Last year the Wolverines earned a commitment from Terrance Shannon before he, like Love, was denied admission to the University. Shannon stayed in the Big Ten and went to Illinois, and Love could follow in a similar path by landing with Mike Woodson and the new look Indiana Hoosiers.
Indiana added Kel'el Ware and Mackenzie Mgbako to the frontcourt, but they have done little to replace Jalen Hood-Schifino (NBA) and Tamar Bates (Missouri) in the backcourt. Adding Love, who the staff pursued out of high school and when he was initially in the portal, would be a cherry on top of an excellent offseason for the Hoosiers.
2. Missouri Tigers
Speaking of Missouri, they could look to add Love alongside Bates in their backcourt for next season. They, like Indiana, heavily pursued Love both out of high school and out of North Carolina, and he'd be an excellent fit in their rebuilt backcourt alongside Bates, Caleb Grill from Iowa State, and John Tonje from Colorado State.
Love is from the St. Louis area and a return to his home state, while playing for an NCAA Tournament team in the SEC, is certainly an appealing option.
3. Louisville Cardinals
The Cardinals went an abysmal 4-28 last season, but Kenny Payne and his staff have worked hard to rebuild this program closer to their former glory - adding Skyy Clark and Tre White in the transfer portal as well as Trentyn Flowers and Dennis Evans on the recruiting trail.
This team still needs more talent infused into the roster, however, and adding Love would give them that - although figuring out the fit between Love and Clark would take some work.
4. St. Louis Billikens
Well we mentioned the St. Louis connection when talking about Missouri, but how about a return all the way home to the Billikens?
The Billikens lost Yuri Collins, among the nation's best point guards last year, and replacing him with Love would instantly vault this team toward the top of the A-10 standings and would make him the league's most notable player and likely MVP.
If a chance to return home, play in front of family, and dominate a league like the A-10 is appealing to Love this is a great landing spot, but it may be hard to convince him to give up a starting spot at a Power-5 program and the NIL money that may come with it.