| No. 3–UAB Blazers | |
|---|---|
| Position | Small forward / power forward |
| League | American Athletic Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Born | September 30, 2002 Puerto Rico |
| Listed height | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) |
| Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Pennsauken (Pennsauken Township, New Jersey) |
| College | Arizona Western (2020–2023) UAB (2023–present) |
Yaxel Lendeborg (born September 30, 2002) is an American college basketball player for the UAB Blazers. He previously played for the Arizona Western Matadors.
Lendeborg was born on September 30, 2002. [1] He was born in Puerto Rico and his family moved to the U.S. in Ohio when he was age two. [2] He is of Dominican descent, with both his parents having been top basketball players in the country. [3] He later moved with his family to Pennsauken Township, New Jersey, when he was age eight. [4] He attended Pennsauken High School and tried out for the basketball team; he made the squad as a freshman, but was cut from the team mid-season due to poor academic performance. [4]
Lendeborg later missed the next two seasons due to poor grades as well. [4] As a senior, he entered a dual-enrollment program with Camden County College and his grades improved enough that he was able to join the Pennsauken varsity basketball team with 11 games left in the season. [4] In 11 games played, he helped Pennsauken compile a record of 10–1. [5] He signed to play college basketball for the Arizona Western Matadors. [5]
As a freshman at Arizona Western in 2020–21, Lendeborg played 14 games and averaged 6.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. [5] The following season, he appeared in 31 games and averaged 12.0 points and 11.0 rebounds per game, leading his conference in rebounds, being named an National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) All-American and the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) Player of the Year. [6] In the 2022–23 season with the Matadors, he was named second-team All-American, the ACCAC Player of the Year and first-team all-region after averaging 17.2 points and an NJCAA-leading 13.0 rebounds per game. [7] He finished his tenure at Arizona Western as the NJCAA's all-time leading rebounder, with 429. [2]
Lendeborg committed to the UAB Blazers following his stint at Arizona Western, after having previously been committed to the St. John's Red Storm. [8] [9] With the Blazers in the 2023–24 season, he played 35 games and averaged 13.8 points and 10.6 rebounds, being named the American Athletic Conference (AAC) Defender of the Year, the AAC Tournament MVP, first-team All-AAC, and second-team all-district. [10] He returned to UAB for the 2024–25 season. [11]
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