Could Kyan Evans Follow Tyson's Footsteps and Join Gophers Next Season?

Evans, who began his career with Niko Medved at Colorado State, might make all kinds of sense as a Minnesota transfer target in April.

Dec 22, 2025; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels guard Kyan Evans (0) brings the ball up court against the East Carolina Pirates during the second half at Dean E. Smith Center. | Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

After six straight losses, four of them coming in heartbreaking fashion, this Gophers season appears unlikely to amount to much. But even amid tough results, there's so much to be encouraged by in Niko Medved's first year as head coach of the program. Minnesota continues to take good teams down to the wire despite all kinds of injury woes.

The Gophers' arrow is pointing firmly upward for the 2026-27 season. With key pieces returning and getting healthy, plus Medved and his staff supplementing the roster with a few impact additions, this could be a team that competes for an NCAA Tournament berth in a year's time.

There's still a lot of basketball to be played this season. But as we start to look ahead, there's an emerging potential transfer portal storyline to keep in mind for a few months down the line. For the second straight year, there's a player who is disappointing as a transfer at North Carolina. And with his previous connection to Medved, it might make a lot of sense for Kyan Evans to follow in Cade Tyson's footsteps and spend his final college season in Minneapolis.

Tyson spent the first two seasons of his career at Belmont, where he emerged as a great mid-major player. He then entered the portal as a highly-touted transfer and landed at UNC, only to flop and average 2.6 points per game. Tyson, of course, then transferred to Minnesota, where he's one of the leading scorers in the Big Ten at 20 points a night, while shooting 40 percent from three. He didn't fit with the Tar Heels but has found the perfect home with the Gophers. Tyson has stepped in as the program's top scorer after the graduation of Dawson Garcia, who also transferred in from UNC under the previous coaching staff.

It would be hard for anyone to make a better pitch to Evans — if he decides to enter the portal again in April — than Minnesota. Evans was recruited by Medved to Colorado State out of high school in 2023, and broke out with an excellent sophomore season where he shot nearly 45 percent from three and went for 23 points in the Rams' first-round tournament win over Memphis. He then entered the portal, where he was ranked as a top-100 player, and chose UNC despite heavy interest from the Gophers.

Kyan Evans | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

So far, Evans' season in Chapel Hill hasn't gone much better than Tyson's did. After scoring in double figures 23 times as a sophomore, he's done so in just four of 20 games this year, three of which came in non-conference play. Evans started the first 17 games but was benched this month and has averaged only nine minutes a night over UNC's past three contests. For the season, he's averaging 5.5 points and shooting just over 31 percent from deep. Tar Heel fans are beginning to turn on him in frustration, much like they did with Tyson.

If you gauge the fanbase, UNC fans are starting to turn on Kyan Evans.

Just like they did with Cade Tyson. Seems like UNC's offense & sets don't fit their skillsets.#Gophers fans would welcome Kyan Evans back w/Niko Medved with open arms.

Something to watch in the off-season! pic.twitter.com/4pqqvrsIeQ

— Kane Rob (@GophersKaneRob) January 28, 2026

Unless things turn around dramatically in the final two months of the season, Evans seems likely to enter the portal again and use his final year of eligibility elsewhere. And with his previous connection to Medved, the Gophers feel like a very logical landing spot. Tyson and third-leading scorer Langston Reynolds are out of eligibility after this season, so Minnesota will need to add a guard and some scoring punch in the portal.

Here's what next season's depth chart could perhaps look like, with Evans either starting or serving as the Gophers' sixth man:

PG: Chansey Willis Jr., Kyan Evans, Chance Stephens, Cedric Tomes (freshman)
SG: Isaac Asuma, Kai Shinholster
SF: Bobby Durkin, BJ Omot, Nolen Anderson (freshman)
PF: Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, (insert transfer here)
C: Grayson Grove, Robert Vaihola, Nehemiah Turner, Chadrack Mpoyi (freshman)

At least a couple players currently on the roster will inevitably transfer out, which would free up roster spots for additional incoming transfers. But if the Gophers are able to land Evans and get guys like Omot and Willis and Vaihola back from injuries (all three could use medical redshirts), this could be a much-improved team next season even without Tyson and Reynolds.

Watching the Gophers this season, it's very apparent that Medved is the right coach for the job. With better health and a few additions, next season's team could be quite dangerous.

Niko Medved | Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images