Malick Kordel

Class:
Freshman
Position:
C
Height:
7-2
Weight:
275
Hometown:
Oberhausen, Germany
High School:
Bertha-von-Suttner Gymnasium

Pronunciation
First Name pronounced: mah-lick
Last Name pronounced: core-dell

Career Highlights
• Member of the 2026 National Championship Team
   • Defeated No. 2 seed UConn, 69-63, to claim U-M’s second national title
• Helped U-M to a program-record 37-3 record (2025-26)
   • Set records for most wins (37) and fewest losses (3)
• Helped U-M capture the 2026 Players Era Championship in Las Vegas
   • Rolled to three straight 30+ point wins over three days (+36.7 average margin)
   • San Diego State (94-54; +40), No. 21 Auburn (102-72; +30), No. 12 Gonzaga (101-61; +40)
• Helped U-M secure the 2026 Big Ten regular-season title
   • Posted a program- and Big Ten-record 19-1 conference mark
   • Won title by four games, earning No. 1 seed in Big Ten Tournament
   • Went 10-0 in Big Ten road games, first team to do so in 50 years (Indiana, 1976)
• 2026 NCAA Tournament (No. 3 overall seed; No. 1 Midwest seed)
   • First Round: Defeated No. 16 Howard, 101-80
   • Second Round: Defeated No. 9 Saint Louis, 95-72
   • Sweet 16: Defeated No. 4 Alabama, 90-77
       • Seventh straight Sweet 16 appearance
   • Elite Eight: Defeated No. 6 Tennessee, 95-62
       • Fifth Elite Eight appearance in the last 10 tournaments
   • Final Four: Defeated No. 1 Arizona, 91-73
       • Ninth Final Four appearance
   • National Championship: Defeated No. 2 UConn, 69-63
       • First national title in 37 years (since 1989); second in program history

Season: 2025-26
• Played in 14 games off the bench
• Made collegiate debut against Oakland (Nov. 3)
• Averaged 1.2 points per game
   • Scored first career-points against Middle Tennessee (Nov. 19)
       • Made a free throw and scored a bucket as time expired
   • Scored season-high four points twice:
       • vs. McNeese (Dec. 29)
       • vs. Penn State (Feb. 5)
• Averaged 1.5 rebounds per game
   • Recorded a season-high four rebounds vs. Villanova (Dec. 9)
• Had five blocks and one steal
• Played a season-high eight minutes vs. Oakland

Career: International
• Season 2024-25: played 22 games with Fraport Skyliners Juniors in ProB (Third Division); averaged 11.7 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, while shooting 71.7 percent (104-for-145); four double-doubles, scored a season-best 21 points against Leitershofen (Dec. 1, 2024) and grabbed a season-best 21 rebounds against Rhoendorf (Nov. 17, 2024)
• Season 2023-24: played 18 games with Iserlohn in ProB (Third Division); averaged 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds while shooting 71.0 percent
• Season 2022-23: played 25 games with for BSV Wulfen in ProB (Fourth Division); averaged 2.4 points and 2.1 rebounds; added 15 games with U19 NBBL (Metropol Academy Ruhr): averaged 8.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, while shooting 68 percent

Notes
• Started playing competitive basketball in 2021
• Grew up playing handball, starting at the age of six
• Played for the Turnerbund Oberhausen (TBO) handball club in the 2019-20 season, then COVID-19 shut down indoor gyms and he started to play basketball outdoors
• Mother, Regine, played in the first division for New Baskets Oberhausen
• Third player from Germany to play for Michigan in last decade: Moritz Wagner (2016-18) and Franz Wagner (2019-21), who are both playing professionally in the NBA