Gophers add commitment from UTSA transfer Trey Edmonds

UTSA transfer big man Trey Edmonds officially committed to the Gophers Monday, after officially visiting the school over the weekend. He chose Minnesota over other top offers from Cincinnati and Ole Miss. Listed at 6-foot-9 he averaged 7.0 points and 5.8 rebounds last season. He will have one year of eligibility remaining.

BREAKING: UTSA transfer big man Trey Edmonds (@Edmonds_III) has officially committed to the #Gophers.

Listed at 6-foot-9, he chose UMN over Ole Miss and Cincinnati. Provides front-court depth and will have one year of eligibility. https://t.co/w8tmc3wyPQ pic.twitter.com/4FJn5e4XVK

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) May 6, 2024

Edmonds began his collegiate career at Utah Tech, before heading southeast to San Antonio. A Denver, Colorado native, he was very under-recruited coming out of high school. He was still very raw playing for the Trailblazers, as he appeared in 53 games, but only started one, averaging 1.8 points as a freshman and then 2.9 points per game as a sophomore.

Last season for UTSA he blossomed into his own, averaging 7.0 points and 5.8 rebounds per game, most notably scoring 12 points vs. Minnesota in a November non-conference matchup. Still fairly raw, fundamentally, I expect Edmonds to slot right into the backup five role for the Gophers. Dawson Garcia and Frank Mitchell have the front track to start, while Parker Fox will likely be the sixth man and Edmonds will add depth.

Projected starting lineup:

• PG: Mike Mitchell Jr./Isaac Asuma
• SG: Caleb Williams/Brennan Rigsby
• SF: Femi Odukale/Kadyn Betts/Grayson Grove
• PF: Dawson Garcia/Parker Fox
• C: Frank Mitchell/Trey Edmonds

**Minnesota still has two scholarships available

All eyes now point towards Charlotte transfer guard Lu’Cye Patterson, who will be visiting the Gophers program tomorrow and I am pretty confident that a commitment could be imminent. If that happens, Mike Mitchell Jr. would be able to slot into his natural two spot and then Patterson would be the Gophers’ PG for next season.

🔮PREDICTION: Barring a last-minute change, I believe Charlotte transfer Lu'Cye Patterson will officially commit to the #Gophers in the near future.

My understanding is that they're bringing him in to compete for the starting PG spot. https://t.co/w8tmc3wyPQ pic.twitter.com/W09baZCJP4

— Tony Liebert (@TonyLiebert) May 6, 2024

It is obvious that this has been a tumultuous offseason for Minnesota, but I still think Ben Johnson deserves credit for how well and quickly he has pivoted into building a competitive roster. A $500k going rate for Pharrel Payne was far too steep for a player that likely has a similar skillset to Frank Mitchell and Lu’Cye Patterson to Elijah Hawkins is a similar story. That is how the sport works now and Johnson is starting to realize that.