Former Matador Yaxel Lendeborg brings national title spotlight to AWC

A former Arizona Western College Matador who started organized basketball at 15 helped push Michigan to the 2026 NCAA men’s championship, and AWC is seizing on Yaxel Lendeborg’s run as proof that a Yuma program can launch players to the sport’s biggest stage.

The spotlight sharpened April 8, when KAWC aired a 25:36 What’s Up Yuma? conversation with AWC sports information director Scott Gross about Lendeborg’s title run and what sets Matadors Athletics apart. Gross, who was hired by AWC on Sept. 17, 2025, also serves as assistant athletic director and is charged with promoting the program through play-by-play, statistics, rosters, schedules, sponsorships and stories about current and former athletes.

Lendeborg’s postseason made history for the college. Arizona Western said he became the first former Matador ever to play in an NCAA Final Four game on April 4, 2026, then appeared in the national championship game against UConn later that night. Michigan beat UConn 69-63 to win its first men’s basketball title since 1989, turning a former Yuma junior-college player into part of a national championship in Indianapolis, Indiana.

AWC men’s basketball coach Kyle Isaacs called the run “super surreal” in the college’s release, a reaction that underscored how rare the moment was for a program that has long depended on development as much as results. For AWC, the value of Lendeborg’s success goes beyond one trophy. It gives the Matadors a concrete recruiting story, a reminder that players can arrive in Yuma, grow into high-level contributors and still reach a national title stage.

That pathway has been building for years. The NJCAA noted in April 2024 that Lendeborg had already emerged as a standout at UAB, where he was named American Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Conference. Michigan’s roster bio adds that he began organized basketball at 15 and helped the Wolverines win an outright Big Ten regular-season title in 2025-26. From Yuma to Ann Arbor, his climb has become a showcase for Arizona Western’s brand and for the kind of athletic pipeline local fans can point to with pride.