The University of Minnesota Golden Gophers women’s basketball season came to a close in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen Friday night in Sacramento, California. Number #1 seeded UCLA was just too strong and while the Gophers kept the game close only trailing by five points at halftime, the Bruins used a dominant third and fourth quarter to pull away for an 80-56 win. The Bruins would defeat Duke on Sunday to advance to the Final Four.
While Minnesota had hopes of pulling off the upset of UCLA, a run to the Sweet
Sixteen in Dawn Plitzuweit’s third year as the Gophers head coach is a great sign of a program that appears to be getting stronger and stronger. With the current state of college athletic, Minnesota appears to be in a good place for the future if they can maximize their position as a potential Big Ten top team to land an impact player or two this offseason who can hopefully take Minnesota to the next level.
Friday’s loss was the end of the road for the Gophers career of five players. Amaya Battle, Sophie Hart, Brylee Glen, Finau Tonga, and Tracy Bershers all saw their collegiate careers end. Minnesota will miss several of these players next season. Tonga and Glen were players who came to Minnesota in the transfer portal last offseason and played large roles coming off of the Gophers bench. Tonga was a great duo with Hart in the post and did everything that the Gophers could have asked for her this season. Glenn came in as one of the first guards off the bench and saw her role increase after the loss of Taylor Woodson to injury. Glen and Tonga were the only other two players other than the Gophers starters in their main playing rotation and helped Minnesota to where they reached this season.
Hart came in as a transfer from NC State and played the last three seasons for Minnesota. Hart grew as a player this past season and finished her career averaging a career high 11.1 points per game and 6.3 rebound per game. She gave the Gophers a legitimate post scoring threat, and her defense at times again some of the Big Ten’s bigs was key.
Amaya Battle ends her career as one of the Gophers best of all time. She became a much more well rounded player this season became the Gophers needed her to. She led Minnesota averaging 7.5 rebounds per game—as a point guard. her scoring average dipped to 11.1 points per game this season, but she ends her Minnesota career with a 11.4 points per game average to go along with 4.4 assists per game. Battle ends her Minnesota career with 599 assists and passed Lindsay Whalen earlier this year to become #2 all-time in Minnesota program history. She ends her time at Minnesota as one of just two players along with Rachel Banham to record at least 1,000 points, 600 career rebounds and 500 assists in a career. Her leadership was talked about by multiple players in postseason press conferences and her game winning shot against Ole Miss in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament will remain in Gopher lore forever.
But while Minnesota will lose several important players, they still have a ton of talent remaining, a highly touted incoming freshman class, and room for at least two impact transfers who can hopefully take this team to the next level.
A Look at the 2026-27 Gophers:
This look at the roster is as of the end of March. It is definitely possible that the Gophers could lose a couple of players at the end of their bench to the transfer portal looking for other opportunities. None have announced their intention to enter the portal since Minnesota’s season ended, but the portal for women’s basketball does not officially open until Monday April 6th and will remain open until April 20th.
Projected Starters:
PG: Empty
SG: Mara Braun
SF: Tori McKinney
PF: Grace Grocholski
Center: Empty
The Gophers have three clear starters returning next season. Mara Braun returned for a redshirt junior season and remained healthy the entire season. Her game picked up as the season went on and she became more comfortable but she automatically slates into the starting lineup for her redshirt senior season. Joining her for her senior year will be Grace Grocholski. The Gopher sharpshooter was leading the Big Ten in three point shooing near midseason but as opposing teams started to key in on her later in the year her scoring became much less efficient and she needed to be better in other areas off-the ball with assists and rebounding. She took a large step from her sophomore to junior season and with another off-season of hard work could become an even bigger threat for the Gophers next year. But the most important player on that list bight be junior Tori McKinney. One of the best on-ball defenders on the Gopher roster and the ability to bring the ball up the floor as well, McKinney elevated her game from her freshman year to her sophomore year this season. It showed when she was out dealing with concussion symptoms for several games this year as Minnesota was 1-3 in games here she was out of the lineup this season and 23-6 when she did play. While not a true point guard, McKinney proved she can beat her opponents of of the dribble and can play some point in a pinch.
But Minnesota does have two glaring holes in their starting lineup. They currently do not have an obvious starting point guard or a post player. This is where the Gophers will hopefully be aggressive in the transfer portal looking to fill those roles, and hopefully with three great starters slated into the lineup and a strong group behind them, players will see Minnesota as a really good transfer opportunity to compete for the top of the Big Ten and a return to the NCAA Tournament.
Bench Returners:
Taylor Woodson
Makena Christian
Kennedy Klick
Nia Holloway
Zoey Berschers
Brynn Senden
This is where Minnesota needs to hope that some of their incoming freshmen discussed below can step up, as with the graduation of Glenn and Tonga, Minnesota’s bench depth has some serious questions.
Woodson tore her second ACL in her second knee in two season back in November and it is a complete unknown what her abilities will be next season. It would be expected she would get an eligibility waiver from the NCAA and still have two years of eligibilty remaining. When she is healthy she is a good secondary threat off the bench to play in the 3 or 4 role in Minnesota’s offense.
Christian came in as the highest touted member of the Gophers freshman class and she showed some offensive spark early in the season against non-conference opponents. Her playing time was cut significantly in the Big Ten season though and she was either the third or fourth player off of the bench for Minnesota. If she can work hard in the offseason on improving her defense and ball handling there is definitely a spot for her in the rotation next season. To play for Plitzuweit your defensive ability and effort is the most important trait. The hope is that Christian can lean into that and improve and be a threat next season and now linger away and transfer like some of Plitzuweit’s other top recruits who could not play defense at a level she needed them to.
Kennedy Klick was in her second year back from a torn ACL and did not see a ton of action. She played in just 18 games this season mostly in mop-up duty. She is a player that would have potential to transfer out and seek playing time elsewhere if she wished. If not it is likely she will remain near the end of the Gopher bench next season.
Nia Holloway is the forward version of Klick. Like Braun she came in in the touted Minnesota Four recruiting class from Lindsay Whalen. She missed her first season with a torn ACL and mostly saw duty as the Gophers second big off of the bench after Tonga this season. Holloway played in 27 games this year for the Gophers but again mostly in mop-up duty or if both Gophers bigs were in foul trouble. She is another player that could potentially look for greener pastures for more playing time for her final year of eligibility. Otherwise if she can raise her game, there are definite openings for forward pay for the Gophers next season, but at just 6’0 is not a true post option for Minnesota.
Zoey Bershers did not see a ton of time as a freshman this season. She missed several early games with an injury and never seemed to get up to speed after that. At 6’3 if she can continue to develop her game she could definitely see time in the Gophers post rotation next season, but it would take a lot of summer development to get her to be in a position where Minnesota would be comfortable with her starting and playing 25 minutes a game.
Brynn Senden is your perfect former walk-on now turned scholarship player at the end of your bench. She works her ass off in practice, knows she’s not going to see game action unless its a blowout but is the biggest cheerleader for her teammates. She will have one last year on the Gopher bench and will not contribute anything on the court but brings every single bench and locker room intangible you could ask for.
Incoming Freshmen:
Natalie Kussow was named Wisconsin Ms. Basketball this past season and was also the Gatorade Girls Basketball Player of the Year from Wisconsin. She is a shooting guard/ small forward and has the potential to slot into the rotation of Minnesota’s four guard offense if she can play enough defense for Plitzuweit. She was the #28 recruit in the nation this season and is an offensive star. But again, it will be her defense that will determine where she slots in Minnesota’s rotation next fall
Tori Oehrlein is the #2 recruit from Minnesota and the #39 recruit in the country. She plays both point guard and shooting guard and if Minnesota is looking for an in-house replacement for Battle she may be the best option. She ended her career as the second highest scorer in Minnesota Girl’s High School Basketball history so we know again she can put the ball in the hoop. But it will take a great summer of work on the defensive end for Plitzuweit to feel comfortable starting a true freshman at point guard next season.
Kylee Paben is the Nebraska Girls Player of the Year and a 6’1 is more of a stretch three or four in the Gophers lineup. Paben is well rounded and can rebound averaging 7.8 board per game this season. She reminds you of a Mallory Heyer type of player. Again if she can figure it out on the defensive end the ability to see playing time in the rotation is there.
Adit Kuol is the biggest mystery in the Gophers class. At 6’4 she has the size to play in the post, yet from all the videos that have been seen of her she will need some serious time in a college weight training program to put on the strength to contribute as a Big Ten post player. The Uganda native came to the US and played this season in Tennessee at The Kings Academy. She is definitely a project and should not be expected to make much of an impact at all next season, and frankly would probably benefit fully from a redshirt season. But she has incredible athletic ability, and if she can put on weight and gain more basketball knowledge could definitely be a threat in future seasons.
Roster Additions?
As it currently stands, the Gophers have 13 roster spots filled for next season allowing them to add two players in the transfer portal. As is discussed above, it would not be surprising to see at least one bench player enter the portal looking for additional playing time at a new home. Minnesota has two glaring holes they absolutely need to fill via the portal. The Gophers need a stating caliber post player. Minnesota ran their offense through Hart in the middle this season. It is critical that the Gophers find a big who can score, can be a passing threat out of the post, and can defend other Big Ten bigs. With the loss of Hart and Tonga, frankly the Gophers could use a pair of bigs who can play in tandem like the two of them did this season. Otherwise the Gophers will need significant development from Bershers or a surprisng rise in readiness from Kuol.
Minnesota also has a glaring hole at point guard. Minnesota could use a full starter to fill that hole, or at minimum a quality player who can easily slip into the rotation and provide minutes at guard if the Gophers eschew a true point and ride their guard rotation of Braun, McKinney and another to bring the ball up the floor.
Any Names to Know?
As we said above, the portal does not officially open until April 6th, but a few players to pay attention to have stated their intention to enter the portal when it does open.
Jordan Ode—Michigan State. The 2025 Minnesota Ms. Basketball went to Michigan State and after playing in the teams exhibition games she did not see the floor the rest of the season and announced her intention to enter the portal. She’s 6’0 and is more of a combo guard, not a true point guard so its not exactly sure if she would fit into Minnesota’s plans as they have a lot of similar players to her allready. But I’m sure she’s at least worth a phone call.
Lana McCarthy—Purdue. McCarthy just completed her sophomore season with the Boilermakers where she averaged 7.8 PPG and 4.7 RPG. The 6’4 New Hampshire native could definitely be a potential fit for one of the Gophers post openings as she excess at a lot of what Minnesota wants in a post with dominant rim protection and physical presence as a rebounder.
Several Iowa State players. Something’s amiss in Ames with at least eight Cyclone players announcing hey were going to enter the portal once it opens—and there has been no coaching change. The top two names that could intrigue the Gophers—but also a lot of other teams would be point guard Jada Williams and forward Addy Brown. Williams transferred to Iowa State last season after two years at Arizona and made a huge impact. For her career she is averaging 13.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists while shooting 36.7% from beyond the arc. A tenacious defender as well, she would fit perfectly into the Gophers system, but will be very expensive on the open market. Brown has one year of eligibility left after three seasons in Ames where she averaged 13.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists in 89 career games for the Cyclones. The 6’2 forward did miss 11 games this season with a lower body injury, but still should be a very popular player in the portal for a contender.
Filipa Barros—Cal Baptist. If the Gophers want to look for a riser from a smaller conference, Barros also fits the mold. The WAC Tournament MVP and 5-foot-9 redshirt junior guard from Portugal was the only player in the nation to average at least 10.5 points, 9.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting better than 40% from 3-point land. Again a perfect fit for what Minnesota would look to replace Battle with, but with those stats will be very coveted in the portal.
Jadyn Wooten—Oklahoma State. A player looking for a bigger role and the Gophers would have one for her. Wooten finished her sophomore season averaging 12.8 points and 5.4 assists per game off the bench for the Cowgirls. She ranked 10th nationally in assists per 40 minutes with 7.7. Wooten made the All-Big 12 Freshman Team last season.
