Which Colorado State players, recruits could follow if Gophers hire Niko Medved?

Would anyone follow Medved from Fort Collins to the Twin Cities?

Mar 1, 2025; Fort Collins, Colorado, USA; Colorado State Rams guard Kyan Evans (0) dribbles the ball up court under pressure from Utah State Aggies guard Deyton Albury (13) in the first half at Moby Arena. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images / Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Over the weekend, Colorado State head coach Niko Medved emerged as a "frontrunner" to fill the Gophers' current head coaching vacancy. It's far from a done deal, but let's take a look at Colorado State's roster and see if any players might consider joining him in the Twin Cities.

Minnesota will have at least seven available scholarships—and likely more—for the 2025-26 season. Whoever they hire will be working with a new-look team next season.

Colorado State's top two players, Nique Clifford (19.0 PPG) and Jalen Lake (11.1 PPG), will both be out of eligibility after this season. Sophomore guard Kyan Evans might be the most intriguing player in this discussion. Listed at 6-foot-2, he's averaging 10.2 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game this season while shooting 46.4% from the field, 43.1% from three, and 86.8% from the free-throw line.

A Kansas City native, Evans was the 2023 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year at Staley High School. If he enters the transfer portal, he’ll likely draw interest from many top programs, so his loyalty to Medved could determine whether he follows him to Minnesota. Evans will have two years of eligibility remaining after this season.

Sophomore forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson (6-foot-8) began his career at Arkansas-Little Rock, but he's averaging 9.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game this season. Another high-potential player is 6-foot-7 Vienna, Austria, native Rashaan Mbemba, who is averaging 7.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per contest.

Rotational players Keshawn Williams (5.3 PPG), Bowen Born (4.9 PPG), and Ethan Morton (3.8 PPG) will all be out of eligibility after this season.

True freshman Kyle Jorgensen, who played high school basketball at Minneapolis Washburn, would immediately become a strong candidate to follow Medved to Minnesota. At 6-foot-9, he started four games this season and scored more than 10 points on two separate occasions.

Former Eastview High School standout Jon Mekonnen redshirted this year as a true freshman. At 6-foot-8, he has plenty of potential and would be another strong candidate to play for his hometown Gophers.

Underclassmen Nikola Djapa, Jaden Steppe, and Luke Murphy round out the roster. They have multiple years of eligibility remaining but played fewer than 10 minutes per game this season. Freshmen Charlie Dortch and Darnez Slater did not appear in a game after joining Colorado State’s 2024 recruiting class.

As for incoming recruits, the Rams only have Texas point guard JoJo McIver signed to their 2025 class. Several factors could determine whether he follows Medved.

At this stage, there's a lot of speculation about which players might follow a potential coaching hire to a new school. If Medved ends up being the guy, Evans, Jorgensen, and Mekonnen stand out as the most intriguing players to watch, followed by Crocker-Johnson and Mbemba.

In recent years, we've seen plenty of coaches bring players with them when switching schools, so it's fair to consider how that could play out with Colorado State. Minnesota isn’t in this year's NCAA Tournament, but you can still watch some potential future Gophers on Friday when the 12-seed Rams take on 5-seed Memphis.

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