Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
The Minnesota Gophers men’s basketball team was previously entering the 2026-27 men’s basketball season with expectations similar to what we saw in Niko Medved’s first season as head coach.
They were mostly non-existent. That doesn’t mean they don’t have talent. Just like he did before his debut season, Medved put together a pretty impressive group for his sophomore season back in Dinkytown.
Minnesota Gophers bringing back Cade Tyson
However, every prognosticator around the country will have to re-examine where they have the University of Minnesota stacked up in the national men’s basketball hierarchy, after the news that dropped Tuesday afternoon.
According to an official media release, the Golden Gophers have added 5th-year senior, Cade Tyson, back to the roster, pending he’s still eligible at the start of the season.
The University of Minnesota has announced that Cade Tyson (Monroe, N.C.) has rejoined the men’s basketball program for the 2026-27 season. Tyson, who was Minnesota’s leading scorer a year ago, has enrolled in classes and will practice with the team as he awaits eligibility status.
University of Minnesota Press Release
Under the old NCAA rules, Tyson would be out of college eligibility. Instead, he and other student athletes across the country (from the 2022 high school graduating class) have been filing lawsuits like crazy, in an attempt to gain an additional year of college eligibility.
This is a BIG deal for Medved & Co.
Everyone inside the Minnesota Gophers basketball program thought Tyson was finished with his collegiate career, after just one season in Maroon and Gold, where he led the team in points, with 19.6 per game, to go with 5.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game (36.7 MPG).
PTS: 38
FG: 11-19
3PT: 8-12
Cade Tyson, who also added 11 rebounds for a double-double, was on fire in @GopherMBB‘s win over Texas Southern 🔥 pic.twitter.com/mV1EGTd06D
— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) December 14, 2025
This, after new rules were passed during the offseason that allow five full years of eligibility for student athletes, going forward.
And at least for now, it appears Cade Tyson and the University of Minnesota expect him to be eligible this season, which would mean reinserting Medved’s best player from 2025-26 into a lineup that was built to win without him…
Mentioned in this article:Cade Tyson Lawsuit
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