Minnesota Gophers Men’s basketball team gets a big commitment for the 2025-26 season. Coach Ben Johnson once again proves why the Gophers hired him, to recruit and get to the NCAA tournament. Minnesota Gophers Coach Johnson has secured three big names for next year’s 2025-2026 team. All three players have a 3-star rating or higher according to GopherSports.com.
Top commit Parker Jefferson will Play for the Minnesota Gophers
Four-star recruit Parker Jefferson will be key next year, especially with the loss of the Minnesota Gophers’ four leading scorers after this year. Dawson Garcia, Mike Mitchell, Lu’Cye Patterson, and Parker Fox are all set to graduate after the conclusion of the 2024 season. Jefferson, and two other Gophers, have committed to play next year for the team.
Jefferson is a 4-star recruit according to ESPN. He turned down offers from powerhouses like USC, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, LSU, Oklahoma State, SMU, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and UCF to ultimately choose Minnesota. Parker Jefferson is a 6-foot-10-inch forward from Waxahachie High School in Texas and played at Inglewood High School in California his senior year. During his three years at Waxahachie, he scored over 1,000 points, led his team to a district championship his junior year, and was named to the All-Tournament team in the end-of-year Holiday Classic. As a Freshman, he put up some gaudy numbers, 15 points and 9 rebounds.
“We’re really excited to add Parker Jefferson to our program,” head coach Ben Johnson said. “From the minute we saw Parker play, we knew he would be a perfect fit, especially from the big position. He’s got a great basketball IQ, is a great passer, and a guy you can play through to stretch out the defense. Those three qualities are ideal for how we want to play. The more we got to know him, we love his personality, his competitive spirit and his toughness. Parker is going to have a great impact on our program in the near future.”
Jacob Ross brings a lot of athleticism to the Minnesota Gophers
Jacob Ross is next on board. The 6-foot-5-inch small forward will bring a lot of speed, scoring, and defense to this soon-to-be young Gophers squad. Ross is from Virginia but played high school basketball for SoCal Academy in California. Jacob told 247 Sports that he’s ready to get started.
“They are a Big Ten team in a Power Six Conference, I don’t know who wouldn’t want to play at that level coming out of high school. It’s a good program. Last year they took a large step in the right direction with this coaching staff. I am honestly very excited to see what it’s like.”
Kai Shinholster rounds out the Minnesota Gophers 2025-2026 draft class.
The third Gopher recruit is Kai Shinholster. He is a 6-foot-5-inch guard from William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia. He loves to defend and can shoot the lights out. Shinholster was a two-time Inter-Academic All-Star in his sophomore and junior seasons. Kai helped his team win their league title for the first time in 20 years. Coach Ben Johnson shared,
“Kai has an elite skill level and can play both on and off the ball,” head coach Ben Johnson said. “He has the ability to create offense for himself as well as others. Kai has a unique knack for scoring at all three levels. He’s got a great first step, great speed and offensively is in a position to develop and grow as a player. He’s won at every level he’s played at and can bring that winning mentality here. We’re thrilled to have him as a part of our program.”
There is a lot to be excited about for this Gopher team next year as they will lean heavily on these three incoming freshmen. The Gophers will graduate their top four leading scorers at the end of this 2024-2025 season.
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