The 2025-26 ‘BTPowerhouse Season Preview’ series will take an in-depth look at all 18 teams in the Big Ten heading into the 2025-26 season with analysis on each program’s previous season, roster overhaul, and top storylines. Each post will also include predictions on each team’s postseason potential.
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Minnesota has struggled heavily as of late, with only two NCAA Tournament appearances in the past decade. The school finally moved on from Richard Pitino in 2021, hiring Ben Johnson as his replacement.
After two dreadful seasons with a combined 22 wins, Johnson took Minnesota to the NIT and won 19 games. A roster that likely would have been capable of getting the Gophers back to the postseason was gutted in the portal and while the roster was left in rough shape, the team did fare a bit better than expected. Of course the end result was another losing record, leading the program to make the decision to move on from Johnson.
The school ultimately hired Niko Medved, who has spent the past 12 seasons coaching several mid-major programs. After four seasons at Furman and a single season with Drake, Medved took over at Colorado State in 2018. Outside of two losing seasons Medved won at least 20 games five times and made it to the NCAA Tournament in three of the past four seasons. Minnesota is hoping that the success he was able to find out west will translate to Minnesota.
Last Season
Minnesota surprised in 2023-24 with an appearance in the NIT and the best season under former head coach Ben Johnson. That momentum didn’t continue last year with the Gophers being hit extra hard in the portal, with only Dawson Garcia being the main piece returning. A team that could have easily been a potential NCAA Tournament squad ended up being retooled on the fly through the transfer portal and the end result was what you typically would expect.
An 8-3 start in non-conference play didn’t do much to move the needle with losses to North Texas, Wichita State and Wake Forest, while a soft schedule led to no marquee wins over the first two months of the season. The Gophers also lost the first six games of conference play, effectively sealing their fate before the midway point in January.
To be fair Ben Johnson had his team ready to play, with home upsets over Michigan and Oregon. Minnesota clawed their way to a 14-12 (6-9) record before losing five of their last six games, including an eight point loss to Northwestern in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament.
Roster Outlook
Just like last season the Gophers will field a roster that looks completely different from the year before. With Ben Johnson no longer with the program, new coach Niko Medved had to rebuild through the transfer portal. Of course that was a given with only two scholarship players returning this season, one of which being a guard that averaged five points per game and another being a redshirt freshman. Star forward Dawson Garcia is gone while basically everyone that contributed last season has moved on, setting the path for a new era at Minnesota. Medved didn’t make many waves through recruiting, only landing one three-star guard in Kai Shinholster. Medved did land nine players through the portal, with the Gophers success set to be tied with how well those nine players perform.
Key Losses
- F Dawson Garcia (19.2 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 37% 3PT)
- G Lu’Cye Patterson (11.6 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 3.3 APG)
- G Mike Mitchell Jr. (8.6 PPG, 2.5 APG)
- G Femi Odukale (6.8 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.6 APG)
- F Parker Fox (5.8 PPG, 2.6 RPG)
- G Brennan Rigsby Jr. (5.4 PPG, 1.9 RPG)
- F Frank Mitchell (4.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG)
Incoming Transfers
- F Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (Colorado State | 9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 35% 3PT)
- F Bobby Durkin (Davidson | 13.5 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 2.4 APG, 35% 3PT)
- F BJ Omot (California | 10.8 PPG, 3 RPG, 35% 3PT)
- G Langston Reynolds (Northern Colorado | 16 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 3.4 APG, 41% 3PT)
- G Chance Stephens (Maryland | 1.3 PPG)
- F Nehemiah Turner (Central Arkansas | 8.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG)
- G Cade Tyson (North Carolina | 2.6 PPG, 1.1 RPG)
- F Robert Vaihola (San Jose State | 7.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2 APG)
- G Chansey Willis Jr. (Western Michigan | 16.8 PPG, 5.8 APG, 4.3 RPG)
Incoming Freshmen
- 3-Star SG Kai Shinholster
Notable Returning Players
- G Isaac Asuma (5.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 36% 3PT)
The backcourt looks like a potential mess heading into the season. Isaac Asuma will be in contention for the starting point guard spot but will need to make a big step up this season in his second year with the program. Incoming WMU transfer Chansey Willis Jr. could land at the one as well, coming off of a season where he averaged almost 17 points and 6 assists per game. Willis Jr. is a bit undersized and struggles from range, both of which could prove problematic as he makes the step up to the Big Ten. He was a high usage guard in the MAC and will likely need to find efficiency at a lower usage rate.
Northern Colorado transfer Langston Reynolds and Davidson transfer Bobby Durkin are also set to see minutes early this season. Reynolds thrived at Northern Colorado with 16 points per game and hit 41% of his three pointers. Cade Tyson is also in the mix, with the guard using a successful start at Belmont to land a spot with North Carolina that turned into a trainwreck. He’ll look to return to form in Minnesota. In his sophomore season at Belmont he averaged 16.2 points and hit 46.5% from three, considerably better than the 2.6 points and 29.2% from three that he put up in a reserve role with the Tar Heels.
The frontcourt is a bit undersized and may be even thinner than the backcourt. Jaylen Crocker-Johnson is a familiar face for Medved, following his coach over from Colorado State after a season where he averaged 9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. San Jose State transfer Robert Vaihola averaged 7.5 rebounds per game and will need to clean up on the glass. Also in the mix is BJ Omot, coming off of a season ending injury at Cal, and three-star redshirt freshman Grayson Grove.
The Schedule
- 11/3 – Gardner-Webb
- 11/8 – Alcorn State
- 11/12 – at Missouri
- 11/15 – Green Bay
- 11/18 – Chicago State
- 11/22 – San Francisco (Sioux Falls)
- 11/27 – Stanford (Acrisure Series – Palm Desert)
- 11/28 – Santa Clara or Saint Louis (Acrisure Series – Palm Desert)
- 12/3 – Indiana
- 12/10 – at Purdue
- 12/14 – Texas Southern
- 12/21 – Campbell
- 12/29 – FDU
- 1/3 – at Northwestern
- 1/6 – Iowa
- 1/9 – USC
- 1/13 – Wisconsin
- 1/17 – at Illinois
- 1/20 – at Ohio State
- 1/24 – Nebraska
- 1/28 – at Wisconsin
- 2/1 – at Penn State
- 2/4 – Michigan State
- 2/8 – Maryland
- 2/14 – at Washington
- 2/17 – at Oregon
- 2/21 – Rutgers
- 2/24 – at Michigan
- 2/28 – UCLA
- 3/4 – at Indiana
- 3/7 – Northwestern
- 3/10-15 – Big Ten Tournament (Chicago)
The first two months of the season for Minnesota will once again provide for plenty of wins. It’ll also serve as a tightrope as the non-conference SOS is weak enough that the Gophers can’t afford to lose many games to start the season. A road trip to Missouri likely highlights the non-conference run, with their appearance in the Acrisure Series only featuring a game against Stanford and then either Santa Clara or Saint Louis. Also on deck will be a game against San Francisco in Sioux Falls.
Minnesota’s early season start in league play isn’t great either, with a home game against Indiana and road trip to Purdue. Any chance of wins will need to happen early in 2026 with Northwestern, Iowa and USC eventually giving way to a much tougher Wisconsin and road trips to Illinois and Ohio State. Home only outings against Michigan State, Maryland and UCLA help avoid tough road trips, but don’t provide many winnable games at home.
Biggest Obstacle
The roster is entirely reliant on a mix of transfers and there are major issues with depth in both the frontcourt and backcourt. While there are some potential pieces, mostly everyone is coming from mid-majors that faced considerably lesser talent than they will in the Big Ten. There’s no definitive answer as to who will run the point and the backcourt is heavily reliant on hoping high volume players from mid-major programs can find similar success in a much tougher, more physical Big Ten. If Cade Tyson can return to what he did at Belmont that would go a long way for Medved and the Gophers.
The frontcourt is equally as thin and undersized, putting them at odds with the rest of the league. And to make matters worse Minnesota returns basically no production from last season and the recruiting class entering is a lone shooting guard, meaning the Gophers will likely need to be heavily reliant on the portal for the foreseeable future. Medved does already have three commits for 2026, though, with a pair of three-star commits and four-star forward Nolen Anderson.
Realistic Expectations
One consistent aspect of the Gophers under Ben Johnson was that they played hard and remained relatively competitive even with a less talented roster. That will likely remain the case in Medved’s first year here. While Medved has had plenty of recent success with the Rams, until he gets some better pieces in Minneapolis it might take some time before he can get the Gophers where they want to be.
In Medved’s first year at his last three schools he’s gone 9-21, 17-17 and 12-20. If the Gophers continue his streak of non-winning seasons in year one it won’t be a surprise. The biggest goal for this season will be for Medved to establish his culture in the locker room, continue to get his players to work hard and try to remain competitive in the league. If the Gophers can stay away from the cellar it will likely be a successful enough season.
