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MN Gophers MBB Roster Nearly Cleaned Out After Transfer Portal Entries
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- MN Gophers MBB Roster Nearly Cleaned Out After Transfer Portal Entries
Photo courtesy of Gopher Athletics
When athletic director Mark Coyle fired former Minnesota Gophers head men's basketball coach, Ben Johnson, it was expected that a big chunk of the 2024-25 roster would no longer be in Dinkytown next season. Let's be honest, that's often the case these days with or without a change in head coach.
But the 2024-25 Golden Gophers roster was chock full of players in their final year of eligibility, including all five of their top scorers Dawson Garcia(19.2 PPG), Lu'Cye Patterson(11.6 PPG), Mike Mitchell Jr(8.6 PPG), Femi Odukale(6.8 PPG) and Parker Fox(5.8 PPG).
Credit: Photo courtesy of Gopher Athletics
On Wednesday, the two homegrown Gophers on the roster — Isaac Asuma(Cherry) and Grayson Grove(Alexandria) — committed to the University of Minnesota for their sophomore years. Grove never saw the floor as a freshman, Asuma was the team's sixth leading scorer , averaging 5.6 points to go along with 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game as a true freshman.
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Minnesota Gophers MBB roster looking very empty…
But one day later, the rest of the remaining Minnesota Gophers roster from 2024-25 have all hit the transfer portal. Big man, Frank Mitchell was the first transfer announced . He hit the portal on Tuesday and committed to St. Bonaventure shortly thereafter.
Since, he's been followed into the portal by senior Brennan Rigsby, sophomore Kadyn Betts, sophomore Max Sheridan and senior Tyler Cochran, whose season was wiped out by injury.
NEWS: Minnesota guard Brennan Rigsby Jr. is entering the transfer portal, a source confirmed to @LeagueRDY .
Rigsby began his career at Northwest Florida State College before playing two seasons at Oregon. He played just one season for the Golden Gophers.
Averaged 5.4PPG this… pic.twitter.com/gZaduK3UiG— Sam Kayser – 24/7 High School Hoops (@247HSHoops) March 27, 2025
Minnesota G Tyler Cochran ( @captaintc23 ) has received interest from the following programs, he tells TPR:
Illinois
Vanderbilt
GCU
Seton Hall
George Washington
SIU
DePaul
San Diego pic.twitter.com/4g66Z0b8OS— The Portal Report (@ThePortalReport) March 27, 2025
When the dust settled, the two freshman who committed to stay for their sophomore seasons earlier this week are the only remain players on the University of Minnesota men's basketball roster. Don't worry, though, that won't be the case for long.
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Prior to new head coach Niko Medved's hire going official , rumors ran wild that Medved was trying to bring some of his best talent from Colorado State to Minnesota. We will see whether or not that prophecy comes true, now that longtime Rams assistant Ali Farokhmanesh got the head job at Colorado State, in Medved's absence.
Related: Richard Pitino Takes New Job
Beyond his former players, the Minnesota Gophers have been linked to a few different players who are currently sitting in the transfer portal. Some of those players are listed below. When all is said and done, I expect the 2025-26 Golden Gophers to have a lot more talent than this year's squad.
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PF Gavin Walsh( Binghamton ) – 11.3 PPG, 10.9 RPG, 1.9 APG (2024-25)
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G Bryce Lindsay( James Madison ) – 13.4 PPG, 2.8 RPG, 2.2 APG (2024-25)
It's possible they receive help from college sports revenue sharing that is supposed to kick in before the start of next season, but that has yet to become official, as it tries to make it through multiple legal battles .
