5 offseason questions for Gophers women's basketball after WBIT championship

Dawn Plitzuweit now enters her second full offseason as Minnesota's head coach.

Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach Dawn Plitzuweit cheers on her team Wednesday, April 2, 2025, during the WBIT championship game between the Minnesota Golden Gophers and the Belmont Bruins at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. | Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Gophers women's basketball officially capped off its 2024-25 season with a Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT) championship game victory over Belmont on Wednesday afternoon. Dawn Plitzuweit finished her second season at the helm with 25 wins, which is a program-best since 2004-05.

1. What does the WBIT title mean?

The Gophers haven't played in the NCAA Tournament since 2017-18, but Plitzwueit has led the program to a Women's National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) runner-up finish and now a WBIT championship in back-to-back seasons. That is a 9-1 record of the last two seasons in postseason tournaments. It's not the tournament you want to be in, but Plitzuweit has shown that she knows how to win in March.

2. 2025-26 roster outlook

In the transfer portal era of college athletics, you never want to count your chickens before they hatch, but all five Gophers starters have the option to return for next season, and eight of their top nine scorers. The team recognized only four players on Senior night: Annika Stewart (8.5 PPG), Alexsia Rose (1.8 PPG), Maggie Czinano (1.1 PPG) and Jordan Brooks (0.3 PPG). That means they could retain up to 84.1% of their scoring.

3. Potential transfer portal targets

Minnesota lost three players to the transfer portal last off-season, and in today's era, it would be fair to expect they might lose some this off-season. Roster limits are set at 15 total players for both men's and women's basketball for next season, and the Gophers would currently have 13 players on next year's team if everyone with eligibility remaining opted to return.

With nearly their whole rotation returning, I don't expect Minnesota to be aggressive in the portal, but they could look to add another veteran ball-handler and a backup post-player. If Plitzuweit wants to keep the heavy Minnesota theme going on her roster, two early potential options would be Utah transfer Gianna Kneepkens and Indiana transfer Lilly Meister.

4. Mara Braun's health

Braun broke out as a true freshman for the Gophers, averaging 15.6 points per game, but she has played in only 27 of 72 games over the last two seasons due to back-to-back foot injuries. They have a 21-6 record in those games, and it's obvious they're a different team when she is healthy. The former Wayzata High School standout has said that she plans to return next season, and Minnesota will need her in the lineup if they want to reach their full potential.

5. Will Tori McKinney start next season?

McKinney was the star of Minnesota's WBIT run. She averaged 14.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, capped off by a career-high 26 points in the title game. She was named tournament MVP. She was the player who replaced Braun in the starting lineup, but will she be there next season?

Mallory Heyer and Sophie Hart are expected to remain as the starting frontcourt, and Amaya Battle and Braun should be the starting backcourt. That leaves Grace Grocholski, who has started all 72 games over the last two seasons and led the team in scoring in 2024-25, as the starting three. McKinney looked like a future star as a true freshman this season, but she might have to come off the bench next season.

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