Transfer portal homecoming? Gophers eye former Minnesota high school star

Minnesota has shown interest in a transfer forward from the ACC.

Dec 20, 2023; Lincoln, Nebraska, USA; North Dakota Fighting Hawks forward B.J. Omot (20) drives against Nebraska Cornhuskers forward Juwan Gary (4) during the second half at Pinnacle Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Dylan Widger-Imagn Images | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

The Gophers are reportedly among the schools interested in California transfer forward B.J. Omot. The former Mankato East High School standout began his college career at North Dakota, but a potential homecoming for him to join Niko Medved's first team at Minnesota could make a lot of sense.

PORTAL: The Gophers have reached out to Cal transfer forward BJ Omot (@omot_bajedo) per @CBBcontent

6-foot-8, Mankato, MN native averaged 10.8p and 3.0r per game last season. Began his career at UND, also hearing from Iowa, Washington and Oklahoma St among others.… pic.twitter.com/M6AgF1rdG3

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) March 29, 2025

Listed at 6-foot-8, Omot was very under-recruited coming out of high school, but he immediately contributed in Grand Forks. He started all 33 games in his freshman season, averaging 12.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. He improved those numbers to 16.7, 4.2 and 1.4 as a sophomore.

He transferred up a level to Cal for his junior season, but injuries cut his campaign short, and he played in only four games for the Golden Bears. He will now have two years of eligibility remaining, but Minnesota is recruiting against schools such as Iowa, Washington and Oklahoma State, among others.

Medved and his staff are tasked with crafting his 2025-26 roster nearly from scratch. Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove are the only two returning scholarship players, but Omot could be a great veteran option to bring in. He has career shooting splits of 40.9/29.3/71.6, but he would provide intriguing positional versatility on both ends of the floor.

Omot chose North Dakota over top offers from Providence, St. Thomas and Western Michigan coming out of high school, but he has proven that he can play at the high-major level. He scored 24 points at Carver-Hawkeye Arena against Iowa as a sophomore, and he averaged 10.8 points in his four games with Cal.

Medved currently has at least 12 scholarships available at his disposal to build his first team, and Omot would be a great piece to add.

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