Niko Medved landed his first commitment as the new Gophers men’s basketball coach Tuesday, from a player he’s familiar with in Colorado State transfer Jaylen Crocker-Johnson.
The 6-8, 230-pound sophomore entered the transfer portal on Tuesday but listed himself as “do not contact,” according to 247Sports. That’s an indication that he already knew where he wanted to play after helping Medved’s Rams get to the NCAA tournament second round this year.
Crocker-Johnson, a San Antonio native, averaged 9.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and shot 49% from the field and 35.4% from three-point range this season, which included 16 double-figure scoring games.
He scored a season-high 21 points vs. UC Riverside and 20 against Fresno State. Crocker-Johnson had 12 points and five rebounds in the first-round NCAA tournament upset over Memphis. He followed it up with seven points and eight rebounds in the second-round loss against Maryland.
In two college seasons, Crocker-Johnson started 62 of his team’s 70 games played, including the 2023-24 season for Arkansas Little Rock, where he earned Ohio Valley Conference freshman of the year honors, averaging 9.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game.
The Gophers have seen 2025 recruits Parker Jefferson and Jacob Ross ask to be released from their signed letters of intent. They also had three players transfer with eligibility remaining: junior Frank Mitchell to St. Bonaventure, sophomore Kadyn Betts to Montana and senior Brennan Rigsby to Radford.
Medved would have four scholarship players for next season with Crocker-Johnson, returning freshmen Isaac Asuma and Grayson Grove and 2025 recruit Kai Shinholster still signed.
After his introduction as Gophers coach a week ago, Medved talked about the challenges of having to replace nearly an entire roster with 10 seniors departing and other players possibly moving on.
