Another Homegrown Former Gopher Re-Enters Transfer Portal

The Minnesota Gophers basketball season wrapped up a couple of weeks ago. Just a matter of hours later, Ben Johnson was fired. Soon after, it was reported that Colorado State head coach Niko Medved — a high school graduate at Roseville, MN and a former Golden Gopher ball boy — was AD Mark Coyle’s eventual hire.

Monday, one day after his Rams were eliminated in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Medved was officially announced by the University of Minnesota as the next Golden Gophers men’s head basketball coach. The final nail in Ben Johnson’s coffin came this time last year, when one-by-one, he lost just about every key player from his 2023-24 NIT team to the transfer portal.

The names out included Pharrell Payne (Texas A&M), Elijah Hawkins (Texas Tech), Braeden Carrington (Tulsa) and Joshua Ola-Joseph (Cal), all of which contributed over 15 minutes per game the season prior. But now, just year later, two of those lost talents are already back in the portal… and both are from Brooklyn Park, MN.

Former Minnesota Gophers guard Braeden Carrington enters transfer portal

Monday, news broke that Ola-Joseph was transferring out of Cal. Then Tuesday, right before Medved was introduced as the new Minnesota Gophers head coach, we found out Carrington (Park) was back in the portal too.

Tulsa junior Braeden Carrington has entered the transfer portal.

The 6’4” guard started 19/29 games played, averaging 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.

— PortalUpdates (@portal_updates) March 25, 2025

Carrington — who took home the 2022 Minnesota Mr. Basketball award after an impressive senior year at Park Center High School — started 19 games for Tulsa, averaging 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 1.7 assists. His biggest impact, however, came on the defensive end, where he built a reputation as one of the best lockdown defenders in the Big Ten.

Related: Former MN Gopher Enters College MBB Transfer Portal

In Carrington’s two seasons with his hometown Gophers, the 6’4″ 195 lb guard played in 51 total games, including 10 starts, all of which came as a sophomore. It’ll be interesting to see where he lands next, and whether new head coach Nico Medved has any interest in bringing him back home.

Braeden Carrington knocks down the DEEP three ☔️@GopherMBB pic.twitter.com/WjAs7EvpDq

— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) December 1, 2023

With just one year of eligibility remaining, Braeden Carrington is set to play for his third school in four years, unless he returns to the Gophers. It’s worth noting that Medved’s Rams did not offer Carrington, out of high school, even though he had success with multiple kids out of MN, including David Roddy, who he got drafted.