Injury-Plagued Gophers Forward Entering Transfer Portal, Per Reports

Gophers men's basketball forward B.J. Omot, who never played in a game for the team due to injury, is entering the transfer portal, according to Sam Kayser of League Ready.

Omot, 22, was viewed as a potential rotational option for Niko Medved when he transferred to Minnesota from Cal last spring. Unfortunately, that plan didn't pan out. After playing in a couple exhibition games with the Gophers, Omot needed surgery to address a lower-body injury and ended up taking a medical redshirt for the second consecutive year.

Prior to joining the Gophers, Omot played in only four games for California before he missed the remainder of the 2024-25 season due to a wrist injury. He was off to a solid start for the Golden Bears before the injury, highlighted by a 15-point, 6-rebound game against Vanderbilt.

B.J. Omot | Mark Zaleski / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The last time Omot played a full season was in 2023-24 as a sophomore at North Dakota, where he started all 32 games and averaged 16.7 points and 4.2 rebounds. He earned first team All-Summit League honors for his performance and became a sought-after commodity in the portal. Omot — who was born to South Sudanese parents in Mankato, MN and starred at Mankato East High School — also led UND in scoring with 12 points per game as a true freshman in 2022-23.

Now Omot is back in the portal for a third straight year. The fact that he hasn't played more than a few games in two seasons figures to dampen his market, but his previous production at UND (and briefly at Cal) means he could still have some power-conference interest. He's still a 6'8" forward with two-way upside. Omot could also return to the mid-major level and look to have a big season before entering the portal once more next year. He should still have two years of eligibility left.

From a Gophers perspective, this probably doesn't come as a major surprise. Omot's injury history meant they likely weren't going to be able to pencil him in as a contributor next season. Medved and his staff will look elsewhere in the portal for production at the forward position.

The Gophers will be replacing leading scorer Cade Tyson and starting guard Langston Reynolds this offseason, which means they need to bring in a strong transfer class to supplement key expected returners like Isaac Asuma, Jaylen Crocker-Johnson, Bobby Durkin, and Grayson Grove. It'll be very interesting to see what happens when the portal officially opens in April.