How Mallory Heyer's transfer impacts Minnesota's NCAA Tournament hopes

The experts think the Gophers could still finally break a seven-year drought.

Ohio State Buckeyes guard Chance Gray (21) shoots over Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Mallory Heyer (24) during overtime of the NCAA women's basketball game at Value City Arena in Columbus on Feb. 13, 2025. Ohio State won 87-84. | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

We're one week away from Minnesota women's basketball tipping off its 2025-26 regular season, and we're five days removed from the surprising transfer decision of projected starter Mallory Heyer. ESPN released its preseason bracketology on Tuesday, and the Gophers are still in the field.

After last season's Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT) championship, the Gophers have big expectations heading into year three of the Dawn Plitzuweit era. Their potential took a slight hit with the loss of Heyer, and ESPN's Charlie Creme has them among the "last four in" the 2026 NCAA Tournament in his preseason projections.

Preseason women's college basketball bracketology | Picture via: ESPN

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The Gophers still return their top five scorers from a season ago. Heyer was sixth on the team with 8.6 points per game and first with 8.1 rebounds. Minnesota has plenty of options to replace her production, as Taylor Woodson returns from injury, while Niamaya Holloway and UAB transfer Tracey Bershers provide plenty of experience.

Minnesota has not been invited to the NCAA Tournament since the 2017-18 season under former head coach Marlene Stolings. They spent much of last season on the bubble, but dropping seven of their final 10 regular-season game was too much to overcome.

The Gophers were unranked in the preseason Associated Press (AP) top 25 poll, but they did receive 15 votes, which was a tie for the 29th-most. The Athletic ranked Minnesota No. 18 in its preseason top 25, and that was published on Monday, so that seems to be a ranking reflected without Heyer.

Ultimately, the loss of Heyer hurts Minnesota's ceiling, but it still has more than enough pieces to make a deep run this March. The University of Minnesota hasn't had a men's or women's basketball team play in March Madness since the 2018-19 season. This year's women's team feels like the best chance in a while to break that streak.

The Gophers will officially open the regular season on November 4 against North Dakota at Williams Arena. The game will be broadcast on BTN+.