Cade Tyson Drawing NBA Draft Buzz After Bounceback Season with Gophers

Tyson has earned his way back into NBA Draft discussions after a great year in Minnesota.

Feb 1, 2026; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard/forward Cade Tyson (10) reacts during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

This time last year, Cade Tyson was coming off a season where he averaged 2.6 points per game at North Carolina. 12 month later, he's worked his way back into being a legitimate NBA Draft prospect after one season in Niko Medved's system at Minnesota.

Tyson's 2025-26 campaign was one of the best single seasons in Gophers program history. He averaged 19.6 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game on 50.0% shooting from the field, 41.3% shooting from three and 82.2% from the free throw line. His 628 total points rank third-most for a single season in the history of the program.

He quickly proved that 2024-25 in Chapel Hill was a fluke. He earned an invitation to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament (PIT) earlier this week, which is a pre-draft event for the top 64 college basketball seniors in the country.

Next player joins us from the Big10! Welcome @GopherMBB's Cade Tyson #PIT26 pic.twitter.com/TfITSoNImp

— P.I.T. (@PIT_Basketball) April 7, 2026

The PIT is a great opportunity for NBA Draft hopefuls. Adding to Tyson's hope of hearing his name called in late June, he was listed among ESPN's top 100 draft prospects, as of their latest update on Thursday. He landed at No. 84.

Tyson has a long way to go before joining an NBA roster, but the fact that he's even in the discussion to be drafted is a huge achievement after the season he had at North Carolina. The landscape of college basketball has changed dramatically over the last five years. But Niko Medved, having Tyson's development as evidence to use in the recruitment of any players in the transfer portal from now on, should be a huge weapon.

Medved developed Nique Clifford into a first-round pick last season at Colorado State, along with David Roddy, before that. Adding Tyson as a second-round pick to that track record would be another huge feather in his cap. Tyson's development is something he could use as soon as this season in hopes of luring North Carolina transfer guard Kyan Evans to Minnesota after a down season in Chapel Hill.

The PIT is set to take place April 15-18, and the NBA Draft combine is set for May 10-17. The Gophers have had only four players selected in the NBA Draft since Joel Pryzbilla was a first-round pick in 2000, and just two since Kris Humphries went in the lottery in 2004. Tyson is looking to become the first player drafted from the University of Minnesota since Cam Christie in 2024.