Jamie Nelson, the third-leading scorer in Minnesota State Mankato women’s hockey history, is joining the Gophers program, the Gophers announced Friday.
Nelson, a forward from Andover who made the Star Tribune’s All-Metro team in 2020, led the Mavericks with 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists) last season. In five seasons with the Mavericks, which included a redshirt season in 2021-22, she had 103 points (42 goals, 61 assists) in 124 games.
“Jamie has been a strong player in the WCHA for several years,” Gophers coach Brad Frost said. “She is a complete 200-foot player who has produced consistently. Jamie has a passion for hockey and plays the game the right way. We are very excited that she has chosen to become a Gopher.”
As a freshman with the Mavericks in 2020-21, she was named the WCHA Rookie of the Year — the first player in program history to earn that honor. She is a four-time WCHA All-Academic team member.
In her high school career, Nelson had 219 points (83 goals, 136 assists) in 98 games with Andover, which won the Class 2A state tournament in 2020.
Nelson joins six freshmen in the Gophers’ 2025-26 signing class: defender Sydney Bailey (Rogers High School), forward Sienna D’Alessandro (Pointe-Claire, Quebec), forward Bella Fanale (Webster, N.Y.), goaltender Layla Hemp (Minnetonka High School), forward Avery Hovland (West Fargo, N.D.) and forward Tereza Plosova (Simonovice, Czechia).
Also on Friday, Gophers redshirt senior forward Abbey Murphy was named second-team All-America by USCHO.com, while Gophers freshman Chloe Primerano was named to USCHO.com’s All-Rookie team.
