The Minnesota Golden Gophers are set to hire Colorado State head coach Niko Medved as their next head coach. The 51-year-old Minneapolis native will look to rebuild a Minnesota program that has struggled over the past several years under head coaches Richard Pitino and Ben Johnson.

Medved, known for his program-building abilities, will take over a Minnesota program that has made just three NCAA Tournament appearances since the 2010-11 season and only once since 2017-18.

Additionally, as he takes over the Gophers' roster, Medved will have just six scholarship players at his disposal, leaving at least nine open scholarships. Medved and Minnesota will likely be active in the transfer portal, and it’s possible that some transfer candidates could come from Medved’s previous program.

Below, Gophers Nation looks at six players who could follow Medved from Fort Collins to Minneapolis.

If Evans enters the transfer portal, he’s sure to attract significant interest, meaning it won't be a slam dunk that he becomes a Gopher. After playing in 36 games as a freshman in 2023-24 and averaging 1.7 points per game, the Kansas City, Missouri native exploded this season, starting all 36 games for Colorado State.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound guard averaged 10.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 47.1% from the field and 44.6% from three-point range. In the Rams' 78-70 NCAA Tournament win over Memphis, Evans was outstanding, scoring 23 points and hitting six of nine three-point attempts.

Crocker-Johnson spent only this past season with Colorado State after starting his career in the Ohio Valley Conference with Little Rock. As a freshman there, he averaged 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. The jump in competition to the highly competitive Mountain West Conference didn’t seem to faze Crocker-Johnson, as he averaged 9.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game while shooting 49.1% from the field.

He’s also a reliable three-point shooter, making 35.4% of his attempts, and a quality free-throw shooter, improving to 75.9% this season from 69.2% as a freshman.

In two NCAA Tournament games, Crocker-Johnson totaled 19 points and nine rebounds while shooting 8-of-20 from the field. However, he struggled from beyond the arc, missing all nine of his three-point attempts.

A native of Austria, Mbemba just completed his sophomore year with Colorado State, playing in 32 games and starting 29. He averaged 7.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting an impressive 59.6% from the field, including 61.9% from inside the perimeter.

While his averages are solid but not spectacular, Mbemba shows significant upside. He had eight double-digit scoring games this season, highlighted by a 22-point performance against UNLV in January.

A Minnesota native and former standout at Washburn, Jorgensen played in 34 games as a true freshman, making four starts. He averaged 4.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game while playing just over 13 minutes per contest.

His best performance came in November against North Dakota, where he scored nine points and grabbed seven rebounds. He also had two double-digit scoring games, with 13 points against UC Riverside and 10 against Fresno State.

If Medved believes Jorgensen can compete at the Big Ten level, he’d be a player to watch closely.

Another Minnesota native, Mekonnen is a 6-foot-8 forward from Eagan who attended Eastview High School. A well-regarded recruit, Mekonnen chose Colorado State over Drake, Illinois State, Loyola, Northern Iowa, Ohio, St. Thomas, and Wyoming. As a freshman, he did not appear in a game for Colorado State.

If Medved believes Mekonnen can compete at the Big Ten level, it would make sense for Mekonnen to consider returning home to Minneapolis.

A member of Colorado State's 2025 recruiting class, McIver committed to Medved and the Rams over a dozen other offers, including New Mexico State, North Texas, SMU, Stephen F. Austin, Tulsa, and UTSA. The Gophers signed one guard in their 2025 recruiting class, Kai Shinholster from the Philadelphia area.

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