The Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball program is undergoing a significant transformation. With the hiring of new head coach Niko Medved from Colorado State, the team is set to feature nearly 10 new players on its 2025–26 roster—none of whom were on campus in Dinkytown last season.
This kind of roster shakeup has become the norm in the modern college basketball landscape, shaped by NIL deals and the ever-active transfer portal. Under former head coach Ben Johnson, the Gophers consistently saw key contributors depart each offseason.
Just a year ago, Minnesota lost standouts like Pharrel Payne (Texas A&M), Elijah Hawkins (Texas Tech), and Josh Ola-Joseph (Cal). The year before that, Johnson saw top Big Ten performer Jamison Battle transfer to Ohio State, starting guard Ta’Lon Cooper head to South Carolina, and sharpshooter Braeden Carrington land at Tulsa.
While all of the previously mentioned players left the Big Ten for a time, a couple of Minnesota’s homegrown talents are now making their return — albeit with different Big Ten programs.
Pharrel Payne, a Cottage Grove native, is rejoining the conference by following his former head coach, Buzz Williams, from Texas A&M to Maryland.
And on Thursday, it was reported that another former Gopher, Braeden Carrington from Brooklyn Park, has committed to the Wisconsin Badgers. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound guard spent last season at Tulsa, where he posted averages of 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game.
Carrington will give the Badgers a player who, at his best, can stretch the floor with a streaky three-point shot and has the ability to attack off the dribble when defenders overcommit to the perimeter. His offensive game may come and go, but he adds another dimension to Wisconsin’s backcourt with his versatility.
Where Carrington truly shines, though, is on the defensive end. He’s a lockdown perimeter defender who can take on the challenge of guarding an opponent’s top scorer. With his length, instincts, and tenacity, he re-enters the Big Ten as one of the conference’s premier on-ball defenders — a role he’s more than ready to embrace.
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