Dawson Garcia, a standout for the Gophers men’s basketball team the past three seasons, signed with the Detroit Pistons as an undrafted free agent Friday.
The 6-foot-11 forward, who had worked out for several teams before this week’s draft, will play for the Pistons in the NBA Summer League, which will be held July 10-20 in Las Vegas.
Garcia led the Gophers in scoring in the 2024-25 season, averaging 19.2 points per game, fourth in the Big Ten. His 614 points scored were sixth most in program history. In 31 games, Garcia scored in double figures 26 times and scored at least 30 points three times and 20 points 17 times. He was named second-team All-Big Ten following the season.
In 89 games in his Gophers career, Garcia finished with 1,557 points — 10th best in program history. During all three of his Gophers seasons from 2022-25, Garcia led the team in points and rebounds, becoming the first Gophers player to accomplish that since Randy Breuer from 1981 to ’83.
Garcia, who played high school basketball at Prior Lake, spent his college freshman season at Marquette, averaging 13 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for the Golden Eagles. He transferred to North Carolina the next season, averaging 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds in 16 games for the Tar Heels. Following the season, he transferred to the Gophers. He scored 2,092 in his four seasons at Prior Lake was a McDonald’s All-American in 2020.
