The Gophers are set to retain the key part of their 2025-26 roster with Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Isaac Asuma, Bobby Durkin and Grayson Grove all set to return. Niko Medved has positioned himself well heading into his first full offseason as the head coach of Minnesota. Here are some questions that I am still asking heading into the offseason.
What’s the transfer portal strategy?
When talking to the media, Medved used all the coach-speak buzz words, saying that Minnesota needs to add size, depth and shooting in the transfer portal this offseason. What stood out to me is that he said that he has been planning their strategy for a while. Every competent head coach in the country is prepping for the transfer portal well before the NCAA says it opens, but not every coach will admit that.
The Gophers are expected to be near the bottom of the Big Ten in NIL spending again, but Medved doesn’t sound like a coach who is worried about that. Specifics are hard to come by when talking about financial compensation in college sports. It’s fair to wonder how much of their budget will be allocated towards the return of Crocker-Johnson, Asuma and Durkin.
Does Minnesota have enough money left to make a big transfer portal splash? What does a transfer portal splash even look like for a program like Minnesota? Those are two questions that cannot be answered until they happen…