Will Gophers Target Former Minnesota Prep Star Daniel Freitag in Transfer Portal?

Multiple reports emerged on Tuesday that University of Buffalo guard Daniel Frietag intends to enter the transfer portal when it opens next week. The Bloomington, Minnesota native had a breakout sophomore season with the Bulls, which makes him one of the more interesting players in the portal. It seems unlikely that the Gophers would pursue. Here's why.

Freitag broke onto the scene at Bloomington Jefferson High School. He was a multi-sport star as a wide receiver on the gridiron. He developed into a nationally-ranked basketball recruit, which resulted in notable top offers from Virginia, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Iowa State, Iowa, Baylor, Cal, Wisconsin and Minnesota, among others. He even had an offer from P.J. Fleck to play football for the Gophers.

He was originally set to attend Southern California (SoCal) Academy for his senior season, but those plans changed, and he transferred to the Breck School for his final year of prep sports. He signed with the University of Wisconsin that fall. He chose the Badgers over Minnesota, Baylor, Notre Dame and Virginia as his other finalists.

The 247Sports Composite rated him as the No. 2 player in Minnesota in the class of 2024 behind Jackson McAndrew, and notably ahead of players such as Isaac Asuma, Isaiah Johnson-Arigu and Casmir Chavis. He didn't see the floor much in his first season in Madison, with just 14 games played, where he averaged only 2.0 minutes per game.

Freitag entered the transfer portal after just one season at Wisconsin, and he landed at Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference (MAC). He performed at a high-level with 19.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He's now back in the portal looking for his fifth school in five years, dating back to his junior year of high school.

Will the Gophers pursue?

With Langston Reynolds set to graduate and Chansey Willis Jr. recovering from a season-ending injury, Minnesota will need to find a starting-level guard to play alongside Isaac Asuma, who's set to return for the 2026-27 season.

Will the Gophers pursue Freitag to fill that spot? It's possible, but I highly doubt he's near the top of their list. Minnesota's previous staff clearly favored Asuma in the 2024 high school recruiting cycle, so it's interesting to see how both careers have played out to this point. From a pure basketball standpoint, the fit is a bit odd with Asuma and Freitag. And off the court.

Freitag's season at Buffalo certainly showed that he can be at least a rotational player at the high-major level. I am sure that he will have the type of interest on the open market, but I believe that it's unlikely that the opportunity will be at Mnnesota.