Two Gophers basketball players seeking transfer despite zero eligibility

Mike Mitchell Jr. and Trey Edmonds entered the transfer portal on Monday.

Mar 12, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Mike Mitchell Jr. (2) shoots the ball while Northwestern Wildcats center Matthew Nicholson (34) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Gophers men's basketball veterans Mike Mitchell Jr. and Trey Edmonds were the latest to enter the transfer portal on Monday, but they have no eligibility remaining. If you thought players jumping from school to school was chaotic now, it could be getting even crazier.

Rivals Portal has learned Minnesota guard Mike Mitchell Jr has entered the portal.

Over the last two seasons he has averaged 9.95 ppg. pic.twitter.com/pf5C6VHlUD

— NCAA Transfer Portal (@RivalsPortal) March 31, 2025

Minnesota F/C Trey Edmonds has entered the transfer portal. Grad transfer. https://t.co/e2a3LvQHLN

— Verbal Commits (@VerbalCommits) March 31, 2025

Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia won a significant case against the NCAA in December, which essentially ruled that years spent at the junior college level will not count against a player's NCAA eligibility beginning in 2025-26. Former Gopher Brennan Rigsby has already taken advantage of this rule as he will transfer to Radford for his fifth college season.

Pavia's ruling has resulted in athletes following suit, requesting Division I eligibility after spending time at the JUCO, NAIA, or even Division II and Division III levels. Many people believe it's heading down the road of all players being granted five years of eligibility or more.

Mitchell and Edmonds have both played four entire seasons of Division I college basketball. Under the current NCAA rules, they are out of eligibility, and they would need a waiver to play a fifth. They're not the first players to do that this offseason, as NC State's Ben Middlebrooks and Wake Forest's Efton Reid are among a growing list of players to enter without remaining eligibility.

There is nothing to prevent players without any eligibility remaining entering the transfer portal, but under the current rules, Mitchell, Edmonds, Middlebrooks, Reid and any player who has played four seasons of Division I basketball are no longer eligible.

The ongoing changes to name, image and likeness (NIL) laws and the upcoming revenue-share ruling have given the NCAA very little to stand on when it comes to cases against eligibility. The most likely scenario is that Mitchell and Edmonds are just being cautious, and they're not playing Division I college basketball next season. There's also a real possibility that things will continue to change after the revenue-sharing settlement later this month.

If Mitchell and Edmonds are granted eligibility, that could open the door for a player like Dawson Garcia to try and do the same. There would be a lot of hoops to jump through for any four-year player to be eligible next season, but someone clearly told them to enter the transfer portal, which raises some questions.

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