Gophers MBB Loses Another Hometown Kid to Transfer Portal

I mean, I can’t even finish writing updates to the Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball transfer portal situation, before another local kid finishes entering their name into the database.

Minnesota Gophers lose Braeden Carrington to transfer portal

We hadn’t even gotten the article, about 2022 homegrown big man Pharrel Payne hitting the portal, posted before news broke that his teammate Braeden Carrington (Park Center), was joining the transfer party, which was started by fellow ’22 MN high school graduate classmate, Josh Ola-Joseph.

Minnesota sophomore Braeden Carrington has entered the transfer portal @On3sports has learned

The 6-4 guard started 10 games and averaged 4.6 points this season. Originally from Minnesotahttps://t.co/sfmeXD4EJT pic.twitter.com/eTnUB2gV3K

— Jamie Shaw (@JamieShaw5) March 28, 2024

Carrington’s transfer, much like that of Ola-Joseph’s, makes sense. His role on the team had shrunk significantly since he first arrived in Dinkytown, so something was bound to give. Not just for the kid from Park Center, but for Ben Johnson too. If the NCAA Tournament is to be on next year’s agenda, Braeden needed to become a much better player, or be replaced. Now, the decision is easy.

According Tony Liebert (GoldGophers.com), Carrington’s decision is based in NIL offers elsewhere, along with more playing time. Most normal humans would . As much as I wish these guys would stick around and compete for their place on the roster, that’s not how it works in the NIL age. And you can’t even blame them, given there is money involved. Someone else isn’t just offering him more playing time, but more cash to play more, too.

Related: Gophers MBB Working Transfer Portal Hard in Anticipation of Losing Their Own

Nonetheless, with all three of Payne, Carrington and Ola-Joseph in the portal, every homegrown commit from the ballyhooed 2022 recruiting class is now in the portal. A class that accounted for 60 minutes, 22.1 points, 11.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in 2023-24.