Portal profile: Jaylen Crocker-Johnson brings unique skillset to Gophers

Minnesota has a lot of different options for how it could use Crocker-Johnson next season.

Mar 20, 2025; Seattle, WA, USA; Colorado State Rams forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (8) passes the ball during practice at Climate Pledge Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images | Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Jaylen Crocker-Johnson was the first transfer portal recruit to commit to Niko Medved and the Gophers this offseason, and he was the only player to follow him from Colorado State. At 6-foot-8, he will bring a unique skillset to Minnesota as one of its top frontcourt players.

• 2024-25 stats: 9.0 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 0.8 APG
• Previous school: Colorado State (Mountain West)
• Height: 6-foot-8
• Years of eligibility remaining: 2

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Crocker-Johnson starred at Warren High School in San Antonio, Texas, before signing with Arkansas-Little Rock to begin his college career. He quickly outperformed his recruiting ranking, averaging 9.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game en route to Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Freshman of the Year honors.

He entered the transfer portal after one year and headed west to Colorado State. He had similar production with the Rams last season, averaging 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. He started 29 of 36 games.

Crocker-Johnson's stats don't jump off the page, but he was a starter on a team that won the Mountain West Conference tournament and even won a game in the NCAA Tournament. He has experience, and he has continued to improve throughout his college career.

Historical Gophers comparison: (lefty) Brandon Johnson

You might look at my comparison for Crocker-Johnson and say, "Brandon Johnson?" At 6-foot-8, there are a lot of similarities between both players' games. Johnson averaged 8.9 points, 6.3 points and 0.7 assists per game, and he was honestly quite underrated in his lone season with the program.

Crocker-Johnson shot 2.7 threes per game last season at a 35.4% clip. He shot 49.1% from the field, 75.9% from the line, and he averaged only 0.9 turnovers per game. He and Johnson are both efficient players who can play the four and the five.

As it pertains to Minnesota's frontcourt next season, the biggest question will be whether or not Crocker-Johnson can hold up as their starting five. Their versatility would increase dramatically if that were the case, but a 6-foot-8 center sounds like a recipe for disaster in the Big Ten.

It will either be Crocker-Johnson or San Jose State transfer Robert Vaihola starting at the five for Minnesota in 2025-26.