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Gophers lose 4 athletes to transfer portal

Two from each of the men's hoops and football teams are looking for a new home

Illinois Fighting Illini forward Coleman Hawkins (33) and teammate Illinois Fighting Illini forward Matthew Mayer (24) pressure Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Jaden Henley (24) during the first half of a Feb. 20, 2023 game in Champaign, Illinois.
Illinois Fighting Illini forward Coleman Hawkins (33) and teammate Illinois Fighting Illini forward Matthew Mayer (24) pressure Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Jaden Henley (24) during the first half of a Feb. 20, 2023 game in Champaign, Illinois.
Ron Johnson / USA Today Sports

Two Gophers men’s basketball players — Jaden Henley and Treyton Thompson — were on their way out of the program via the NCAA transfer portal on Monday.

Henley, a true freshman from Ontario, California, thanked the Gophers and its coaches for welcoming him to Minnesota.

“After talking with my family, I have decided to enter my name in the transfer portal and find a new home to continue my academic and athletic career,” Henley wrote on Twitter. “I look forward to the next step in my journey.”

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Henley averaged 5.3 points and 2.2 rebounds across 31 games, including 18 starts. He is friends and former AAU teammates with Dennis Evans III, the four-star center from Riverside, California, who left the Gophers’ incoming recruiting class in February and committed to Louisville on Sunday.

Thompson, a 7-foot sophomore from Alexandria, Minnesota, said he will enter the portal. He was recruited to Minnesota under previous head coach Richard Pitino and didn’t receive regular playing time under Ben Johnson.

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Thompson averaged 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 points in 20 games last season but often remained on the bench, including in the last five games.

Football team loses Potts, Brown-Stephens

The Gophers football program has had two players enter the NCAA transfer portal, the St. Paul Pioneer Press confirmed Monday — Michael Brown-Stephens and Trey Potts.

Potts, of Williamsburg, Pennsylvania, overcame a serious upper-body injury in 2021 to rush 101 times for 417 yards and three touchdowns in 2022. He has one year of eligibility remaining.

Brown-Stephens, of Springfield, Ohio, took a leave of absence from the team at the end of 2022. He had 22 receptions for 338 yards last season. Brown-Stephens has two years of eligibility left.

The Gophers have worked to revamp both position groups via the portal in the offseason, with incoming transfers Western Michigan running back Sean Tyler and Western Michigan slot receiver Corey Crooms Jr. playing the same position as the departing players.

Minnesota has added six total players from other programs since mid-December. The Gophers have had 13 scholarship players leave since November.

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