Ex-Gopher Isaiah Ihnen suffers third season-ending knee injury in four seasons

Ihnen was in the middle of a career-year for the Flames.

Liberty forward Isaiah Ihnen / Picture via: Liberty Athletics

Forward Isaiah Ihnen was one of six scholarship players to transfer out of the Gophers' program in the offseason. His Minnesota career was derailed by injuries and his Liberty career has unfortunately started the same way.

Hailing from Germany, Ihnen was a promising four-star high school prospect in the class of 2019. He showed promise in his freshman and sophomore seasons with the Gophers under former head coach Richard Pitino. He was the only holdover player from Pitino to Ben Johnson, but he missed the entire 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons due to back-to-back knee injuries.

He came back in 2023-24 and showed flashes, averaging 3.4 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. He then hit the transfer portal following the season and joined Liberty to finish out his college career.

His 2024-25 campaign started out great on one of the best mid-major teams in the country. The Flames are 12-2 and Ihnen was averaging 10.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on 55.7/38.9/66.7 shooting splits. He missed the team's last three games due to injury, but head coach Ritchie McKay announced on Thursday that he will be out for the remainder of the season due to another knee injury.

"Isaiah’s 6’9”, 7’3” wingspan… We’re going to miss him, he’s out for the rest of the season," McKay told the media following their one-point loss to Western Kentucky.

“Isaiah’s 6’9”, 7’3” wingspan… We’re going to miss him, he’s out for the rest of the season” - #Liberty head, MBB Coach Ritchie McKay’s update on injured forward Isaiah Ihnen pic.twitter.com/4cXlBJY3nB

— Ed Lane (@FastLaneEdLane) January 3, 2025

There's no official word on the specifics of Ihnen's injury or whether or not he'll be able to apply for a medical redshirt, but his 2024-25 season is over.

---

Stay up to date on all things Gophers by bookmarking Minnesota Gophers On SI, subscribing to our YouTube Channel, and signing up to receive our free Gophers newsletter, which will enter you into a drawing for the EA College Gameday 25 video game (you choose between PS5 or Xbox).