2025–26 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team

2025–26 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 18
Record22–8 (13–5 Big Ten)
Head coach
Associate head coachJason Jeschke
Assistant coaches
  • Aaron Horn
  • Aerial Braker
  • Tyler VanWinkle
Home arenaWilliams Arena
2025–26 Big Ten women's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 UCLA † 18 – 0   1.000 31 – 1   .969
No. 7 Iowa 15 – 3   .833 26 – 6   .813
No. 9 Michigan 15 – 3   .833 25 – 6   .806
No. 18 Minnesota 13 – 5   .722 22 – 8   .733
No. 12 Ohio State 13 – 5   .722 26 – 7   .788
No. 17 Maryland 11 – 7   .611 23 – 8   .742
No. 20 Michigan State 11 – 7   .611 22 – 8   .733
Washington 10 – 8   .556 21 – 10   .677
USC 9 – 9   .500 17 – 13   .567
Illinois 9 – 9   .500 21 – 11   .656
Oregon 8 – 10   .444 22 – 12   .647
Nebraska 7 – 11   .389 19 – 12   .613
Indiana 6 – 12   .333 18 – 14   .563
Purdue 5 – 13   .278 13 – 17   .433
Wisconsin 5 – 13   .278 14 – 17   .452
Penn State 4 – 14   .222 11 – 18   .379
Northwestern 2 – 16   .111 8 – 21   .276
Rutgers 1 – 17   .056 9 – 20   .310
† 2026 Big Ten tournament winner
As of March 19, 2026
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2025–26 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Golden Gophers, led by third-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit, and played their home games at Williams Arena as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Gophers were not listed in the Big Ten preseason top five.[1] The Gophers received votes in the preseason AP top 25, but were not listed.[2] By February 18, 2026, the Gophers had won nine straight games, including their second win against a top ten ranked team, to move into number 23 in the AP poll and tied for 4th place in the Big Ten standings.[3][4] The Gophers finished the regular season 13-5 and tied for 4th place. They gained the number four seed in the 2026 Big Ten women's basketball tournament with the tiebreaker over Ohio State. They lost to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournement.[5] The Gophers were invited to host as a number four seed in the 2026 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament.[6][7]

Previous season

The Golden Gophers finished the 2024–25 season 25–11, 8–10 in Big Ten play to finish in thirteenth place. As the No. 13 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost in the first round to Washington. They received an at-large bid to the WBIT as the No. 2 seed in the Colorado bracket. They advanced to the championship game where they defeated Belmont.[8][9] Minnesota was the sole Big Ten team invited to the 2025 WBIT.[10]

Offseason

Minnesota gained a top recruit in Makena Christian, the number one player in Wisconsin.[11]

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure
Alexsia Rose 0 G 5'7" Graduate Student Bloomfield, CT Graduated
Maggie Czinano 5 G 6'0" Senior Watertown, MN Graduated
McKenna Johnson 7 G 5'9" Freshman Wilmot, WI Transferred to Butler[12]
Annika Stewart 21 F/C 6'3" Graduate Student Plymouth, MN Graduated
Mallory Heyer 24 F 6'1" Senior Chaska, MN Transferred to Oregon[13]
Jordan Brooks 34 C 6'3" Senior Apple Valley, CA Transferred to North Florida[14]

Incoming transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School
Tracey Bershers 1 F 6'2" Senior Fort Smith, AR UAB
Brylee Glenn 12 G 5'11" Graduate Student Kansas City, MO Kansas State
Finau Tonga 31 F/C 6'2" Graduate Student Taylorsville, UT San Jose State

2025 Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Makena Christian
G 		Hartford, WI Hartford High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) N/A  
Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (94)
Overall recruit ranking:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2025 Player Commits". ESPN. Archived from the original on September 8, 2025.

Recruiting class of 2026

College recruiting information (2026)
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Natalie Kussow
G 		Hartland, WI Arrowhead High School 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) N/A  
Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (94)
Tori Oehrlein
G 		Crosby, MN Crosby Ironton High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) N/A  
Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (93)
Overall recruit ranking:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2025–26 Minnesota Golden Gophers women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
F 1 Tracey Bershers 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Sr UAB Fort Smith, AR
G 3 Amaya Battle 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Sr Hopkins Hopkins, MN
G 10 Mara Braun 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS Jr Wayzata Wayzata, MN
G 12 Brylee Glenn 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) GS Kansas State Kansas City, MO
G 14 Tori McKinney 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Minnetonka Minnetonka, MN
G 15 Brynn Senden 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Jr Wayzata Wayzata, MN
F 20 Taylor Woodson 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Jr Michigan Minnetonka, MN
G 22 Kennedy Klick 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS So Maple Grove Brooklyn Park, MN
G/F 25 Grace Grocholski 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) Jr Kettle Moraine North Prairie, WI
C 30 Zoey Bershers 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Farmington Glenwood, AR
F 31 Finau Tonga 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) GS San Jose State Taylorsville, UT
G 35 Makena Christian 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Hartford Union Lomira, WI
F 41 Niamya Holloway 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) RS Jr Eden Prairie Eden Prairie, MN
C 52 Sophie Hart 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) GS NC State Farmington, MN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 4, 2025*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		North Dakota W 91–47  1–0
  23 – Christian   10 – Battle   7 – Battle  Williams Arena (3,384)
Minneapolis, MN
November 7, 2025*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Manhattan W 99–36  2–0
  17 – Braun   8 – Grocholski   7 – Grocholski  Williams Arena (2,904)
Minneapolis, MN
November 11, 2025*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Marquette W 90–47  3–0
  19 – Grocholski   11 – Battle   7 – Tied  Williams Arena (2,999)
Minneapolis, MN
November 14, 2025*
5:00 p.m., B1G+ 		NJIT W 88–39  4–0
  13 – Glenn   10 – Battle   5 – Christian  Williams Arena (2,973)
Minneapolis, MN
November 19, 2025*
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Kansas L 57–63  4–1
  14 – McKinney   9 – Battle   4 – Tied  Allen Fieldhouse (3,518)
Lawrence, KS
November 24, 2025*
3:00 p.m., FloCollege 		vs. South Florida
Pink Flamingo Championship Junkanoo Division semifinals 		W 57–45  5–1
  14 – Grocholski   10 – Hart   4 – Glenn  Baha Mar Convention Center (207)
Nassau, Bahamas
November 26, 2025*
3:00 p.m., FloCollege 		vs. Alabama
Pink Flamingo Championship Junkanoo Division finals 		L 58–63  5–2
  13 – Glenn   11 – Hart   4 – Glenn  Baha Mar Convention Center (247)
Nassau, Bahamas
December 1, 2025*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Samford W 77–40  6–2
  17 – Hart   10 – Hart   4 – McKinney  Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
December 7, 2025
3:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 7 Maryland L 99–100 2OT 6–3
(0–1) 		 31 – Grocholski   12 – Battle   7 – Battle  Williams Arena (4,854)
Minneapolis, MN
December 10, 2025*
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Alabama A&M W 82–44  7–3
  13 – McKinney   8 – Glenn   6 – Tied  Williams Arena (2,803)
Minneapolis, MN
December 14, 2025*
5:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Wyoming W 80–34  8–3
  14 – Glenn   8 – Battle   5 – Braun  Williams Arena (3,266)
Minneapolis, MN
December 21, 2025*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Drake W 68–43  9–3
  18 – Grocholski   11 – Grocholski   3 – Grocholski  Knapp Center (2,570)
Des Moines, IA
December 29, 2025
5:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Indiana W 71–48  10–3
(1–1) 		 20 – Battle   12 – Hart   3 – McKinney  Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (8,134)
Bloomington, IN
January 5, 2026
5:30 p.m., BTN 		at No. 9 Michigan L 60–70  10–4
(1–2) 		 22 – Grocholski   8 – Grocholski   2 – Tied  Crisler Center (3,046)
Ann Arbor, MI
January 8, 2026
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Northwestern W 79–47  11–4
(2–2) 		 20 – McKinney   8 – Tonga   5 – Battle  Williams Arena (3,865)
Minneapolis, MN
January 11, 2026
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 21 USC W 63–62  12–4
(3–2) 		 25 – Grocholski   10 – Braun   4 – Battle  Williams Arena (5,514)
Minneapolis, MN
January 14, 2026
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 3 UCLA L 58–76[15][16]  12–5
(3–3) 		 16 – Battle   7 – Battle   5 – Battle  Williams Arena (4,374)
Minneapolis, MN
January 18, 2026
5:00 p.m., BTN 		at Washington L 54–67  12–6
(3–4) 		 18 – Braun   7 – Grocholski   3 – Tied  Alaska Airlines Arena (3,509)
Seattle, WA
January 21, 2026
8:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Oregon W 65–60  13–6
(4–4) 		 20 – Battle   9 – Braun   3 – Tied  Matthew Knight Arena (4,675)
Eugene, OR
January 25, 2026
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Wisconsin W 88–53  14–6
(5–4) 		 20 – McKinney   7 – McKinney   5 – Glenn  Williams Arena (5,749)
Minneapolis, MN
January 28, 2026
5:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Penn State W 87–66  15–6
(6–4) 		 23 – McKinney   10 – Battle   4 – Tied  Rec Hall (1,546)
State College, PA
February 1, 2026
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Purdue W 88–55  16–6
(7–4) 		 17 – Battle   9 – Battle   5 – McKinney  Williams Arena (4,502)
Minneapolis, MN
February 5, 2026
6:00 p.m., BTN 		at No. 10 Iowa W 91–85  17–6
(8–4) 		 21 – Grocholski   14 – Battle   6 – Battle  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,998)
Iowa, City, IA
February 8, 2026
11:00 a.m., B1G+ 		at Rutgers W 63–52  18–6
(9–4) 		 17 – Hart   10 – Hart   3 – Tied  Jersey Mike's Arena (5,480)
Piscataway, NJ
February 12, 2026
7:00 p.m., BTN 		Nebraska W 84–67  19–6
(10–4) 		 21 – Battle   6 – Tied   5 – McKinney  Williams Arena (4,039)
Minneapolis, MN
February 15, 2026
5:00 p.m., BTN 		at Wisconsin W 83–60  20–6
(11–4) 		 20 – Braun   6 – Hart   4 – McKinney  Kohl Center (3,953)
Madison, WI
February 18, 2026
7:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 23 No. 10 Ohio State W 74–61[3][17]  21–6
(12–4) 		 18 – Tied   12 – Battle   5 – Tied  Williams Arena (4,025)
Minneapolis, MN
February 22, 2026
5:00 p.m., FS1 		No. 23 No. 18 Michigan State L 61–75  21–7
(12–5) 		 29 – McKinney   9 – Hart   4 – Tied  Williams Arena (7,088)
Minneapolis, MN
March 1, 2026
1:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 22 at Illinois W 78–73  22–7
(13–5) 		 17 – Hart   8 – Battle   5 – Braun  State Farm Center (5,785)
Champaign, IL
Big Ten Women's Tournament
March 6, 2026
1:30 p.m., BTN 		(4) No. 19 vs. (5) No. 11 Ohio State
Quarterfinals 		L 55–60[5]  22–8
  18 – Grocholski   19 – Hart   6 – Braun  Gainbridge Fieldhouse (5,146)
Indianapolis, IN
NCAA Women's Tournament
March 20, 2026*
5:00 p.m., ESPNU 		(4 S2) No. 18 (13 S2) Green Bay
First Round 		      Williams Arena 
Minneapolis, MN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
Sacramento 2=S2.
All times are in Central Time.

Source:[18]

Rankings

Main article: 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APRVRVRVRV—————*—RVRVRVRVRV2322191818
CoachesRVRVRVRV——————RVRVRVRVRV2322201919

*AP did not release a week 8 poll.

References

  1. ^ UCLA, Betts Headline Big Ten Women's Basketball Preseason Honors. Big Ten Conference, October 2, 2025
  2. ^ Liebert, Tony - Gophers women's basketball snubbed from preseason AP Top 25. Sports Illustrated, October 14, 2025
  3. ^ a b Newly ranked No. 23 Minnesota muscles past No. 10 Ohio State women's basketball 74-61 for 9th straight win. WKYC Studios (AP), February 18, 2026
  4. ^ Scoggins, Chip - Scoggins: Gophers women’s basketball sends message with win over No. 10 Ohio State. Star Tribune, February 19, 2026
  5. ^ a b Black, Jenna - Gophers women’s basketball falls 60-55 to Ohio State in Big Ten quarterfinals. Star Tribune, March 6, 2026
  6. ^ Scoggins, Chip - Scoggins: Gophers are playing host to NCAA tournament games because of trust. Star Tribune, March 15, 2026
  7. ^ Scoggins, Chip - Gophers women’s basketball earns No. 4 seed in NCAA tournament. Star Tribune, March 15, 2026
  8. ^ "Minnesota Golden Gophers win 2025 WBIT". ncaa.com. NCAA. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  9. ^ Youngblood, Kent - Gophers women’s basketball team rolls against Belmont for WBIT title. Star Tribune, April 2, 2025
  10. ^ Minnesota Selected for 2025 WBIT Field. Big Ten Conference, March 16, 2025
  11. ^ Nelson, Joe - One of the top recruits in the country commits to Minnesota. Sports Illustrated, February 22, 2024
  12. ^ "Minnesota Transfer McKenna Johnson Signs with Butler". butlersports.com. Butler Athletics. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  13. ^ "Former Gophers forward Mallory Heyer announces she's transferring to Oregon". startribune.com. Star Tribune. Retrieved 23 February 2026.
  14. ^ "Women's Basketball Announces 2025-26 Roster". unfospreys.com. North Florida Athletics. Retrieved 8 February 2026.
  15. ^ Lauren Betts has double-double, Kiki Rice scores 25 points as UCLA defeats Minnesota. Los Angeles Times (AP), January 14, 2026
  16. ^ Johnson, Randy - Kiki Rice, Lauren Betts power No. 3 UCLA past Gophers 76-58. Star Tribune, January 14, 2026
  17. ^ Scoggins, Chip - Gophers women’s basketball takes down No. 10 Ohio State for ninth straight win. Star Tribune, February 18, 2026
  18. ^ "2025–26 Women's Basketball Schedule". gophersports.com. Gopher Sports. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
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