The Gophers men’s basketball program’s initial recruiting class under new head coach Niko Medved is off to a stronger start.
It’s still early in the cycle, but the three total recruits in the 2026 class have the U at seventh in the nation, according to 247Sports.
And there is a “possibility” for one more, Medved said Monday.
“It’s got to be the right guy,” he said. “We’ve got some guys that have visited that we really, really like, so we will see where that goes.”
One of those candidates is four-star shooting guard Joseph Hartman. The Gainesville, Fla. product visited the Gophers last week. Hartman has more than 15 offers and has posted about other recent visits to Butler and Iowa.
Quinn Costello, a four-star forward prospect from Boston, visited the U in late August, but he committed to Michigan in the last few weeks. Costello’s high school teammate, four-star guard Lucas Morillo, also visited Dinkytown and has yet to commit.
The Gophers current recruiting class includes four-star wing Nolen Anderson (Wayzata), three-star point guard Cedric Tomes (East Ridge) and three-star center Chadrick Mpoyi (Irvine, Calif.)
Schedule buzz
Medved didn’t have to look far for a breakdown of the Gophers’ newly released Big Ten schedule; he heard about it at a family function on Sunday.
“They know it better than I do,” Medved said Monday with a laugh. “Honestly, (I) just kind of focus on today.”
Scouting of the U’s upcoming conference opponents will come later. On Monday, Medved led his debut team in its first official practice at William Arena.
Medved knows the Gophers open up against Indiana — and new Hoosiers head coach Darian DeVries — at The Barn on Dec. 3 and then travel to powerhouse Purdue on Dec. 10. He is also aware of another highlight: rivals Iowa and Wisconsin are part of a three-game stretch (along with Southern Cal) at The Barn in early January.
“They were laying out all this stuff, who we go to and who comes here,” Medved said of his family. “… That just seems so far down the horizon right now.”
The Gophers have less than a month to prepare for their two exhibition games against North Dakota State (Oct. 16) and North Dakota (Oct. 25). The season opener against Gardner-Webb is at Williams Arena on Nov. 3.
Injury news
B.J. Omot, a transfer wing from the University of California, has been fully cleared to practice, Medved said. Omot, a Mankato native, missed summer workouts to have surgery for a stress fracture in his shin.
“He’s been building up, but getting him back out there has been great for us,” Medved said. “That gives us another player that we are really really excited about.”
Chance Stephens, a transfer from Maryland, is dealing with illness and has been sidelined. And Max Gizzi, a transfer from Huntington, broke his foot, had surgery and is out for an estimated six weeks.
Related Articles
Q&A: Gophers AD Mark Coyle on budget deficit, revenue sharing and Big Ten expansion
Gophers men’s basketball lands bruising big man recruit from California
A top boys basketball prospect to visit Gophers this week
With Niko Medved a fan, will Gophers finally commemorate Clem Haskins?
Gophers men’s basketball pick up high-rising Wayzata recruit Nolen Anderson
Leave a Reply