When redshirt senior wide receiver Chris Autman-Bell suffered a leg injury at fall camp, there were just under three weeks until the Gophers’ contest with Ohio State. With no way to know whether Autman-Bell would be fully healed or not by week one, the Gophers prepared for life without their veteran receiver.

Without Autman-Bell, no wide receiver on the Gophers’ roster had more than 12 career receptions heading into Thursday’s season opener, so the door was wide open for any option to emerge.

As the highest-ranked recruit in the Minnesota wide receiver room (No. 70 in 2019 according to 247sports), it would make the most sense for Texas A&M redshirt sophomore transfer Dylan Wright to grow into a much larger role. Listed at 6-feet-3-inches and 215 pounds, Wright looks the part of an elite receiving option. With talented wide receivers in sophomore Daniel Jackson and redshirt sophomore Mike Brown-Stephens on the Gophers’ roster, Wright’s role was far from given as it had to be earned.

When Sept. 2 came around there was still no word on whether Autman-Bell would give it a go against the Buckeyes. When he was officially inactive for last week’s game, it was time to see which one of the Gophers’ talented trio of sophomore wide receivers would shine.

It seemed as if the Gophers were desperately missing Autman-Bell against Ohio State, as they opted to run the ball on each of their first nine plays and failed to complete a pass on the opening drive of the game.

The Gophers passing game started to find its rhythm on offensive drive No. 2 and Wright was the first Gophers wide receiver to find himself the box score. After reeling in two catches for 20 combined yards, the Gophers’ offense did not add any points, but you could tell that quarterback Tanner Morgan had found a connection with Wright.

Early in the second quarter, Wright blew the ballgame wide open, catching the first touchdown of the Gophers’ season as well as his Gophers career. After just over a quarter of play, Wright totaled three catches for 33 yards and a touchdown. It was clear that Morgan had found his favorite target.

“He [Wright] has got a really bright future on this football team,” Morgan said following the game. “To throw the ball to him is a gift every single day. We obviously have a lot of talent on the outside and I am proud of how a lot of guys stepped up and made plays today, especially No. 16.”

As the Gophers battled back and forth with the No. 4 ranked Buckeyes, Wright’s emergence as a No. 1 option dramatically helped the Gophers’ offense settle in without their veteran option in Autman-Bell.

Wright would leave his mark on the game with a team-high five catches for 57 receiving yards and one touchdown on the day. After not recording a single catch in his first two seasons with Texas A&M, Wright proved that he could play top-level college football at a very high level.

“He [Wright] made big-time catches, those were contested catches,” Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said.

The Gophers hope to have Autman-Bell back from injury when they take on Miami (OH) in week two, but Wright has proven that he deserves a role on this football team.

Gophers football officially kicks off its 2021 campaign Thursday, as it hosts the No. 4 ranked Buckeyes of Ohio State and their remarkably talented group of wide receivers.

Ohio State has been the class of the Big Ten for quite some time, most recently winning each of the last four conference championship titles.

For most programs, replacing the Buckeyes’ 11 departing starters – which includes promising NFL players, such as the 2020 Big Ten Griese-Brees Quarterback of the Year in Justin Fields, running back Trey Sermon and All-Big Ten offensive lineman Wyatt Davis – from last season’s national runner-up squad would be quite the obstacle, but for Ohio State it has become second nature.

The mass exodus of offensive talent has not turned many away from choosing Ohio State to repeat as Big Ten Champions. The main reason being its unbelievable amount of talent at the wide receiver position.

2020 First Team All-Big Ten senior wide receiver Chris Olave shocked many by forgoing the NFL Draft and opting to return to Columbus, Ohio for another season donning scarlet and grey.

Olave will compete alongside another 2020 First Team All-Big Ten wide receiver in junior Garrett Wilson to make one of the best wide receiver duos that college football has ever seen. Olave was named as an preseason AP first-team All-American while Wilson was named to the second-team.

“They [Ohio State] are very very talented, this wide receiver core they have might be the best wide receiver core I have ever seen in one football team,” Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck said.

Last season in Ohio State’s route to the National Championship game, Olave totaled 729 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on only 50 catches. Wilson was not far behind with 723 receiving yards and six touchdowns with 43 receptions on the season. The duo’s 194.5 combined receiving yards per contest ranked No. 1 nationally amongst pass-catching duos in college football.

ESPN’s NFL Draft analyst Todd McShay ranks Olave as the 10th best NFL Draft prospect heading into this season. His natural route-running and elite athleticism makes him one of the toughest players to game plan against in college football.

“Olave, he’s smooth and fluid, he’s got incredible instincts, he plays bigger than he is,” Fleck said. “He’s got incredible short area quickness, he can play inside, he can play outside, he can go up and over you, but then he can also play inside and do a great job working the middle crosses and the deep overs.”

Garrett Wilson finds himself in a similar ranking on McShay’s list as the No. 14 ranked 2022 NFL Draft prospect. Many see Wilson as the second fiddle to Olave, but there are some that think otherwise, such as popular football news site Pro Football Focus which ranks him No. 8 on its NFL Draft prospect list, 10 spots ahead of Olave.

The talent doesn’t end at Olave and Wilson. 2020 five-star recruits Jaxon Smith-Njigba and Julian Fleming both have the level of talent to be a No. 1 option at most programs. True-freshman four-star prospect Marvin Harrison Jr. (son of NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Marvin Harrison) could be a major contributor on most teams, but he will likely struggle to find the field for the Buckeyes.

While a team can have all of the wide receiver talent in the world, they need a quarterback to throw them the football. Redshirt-freshman C.J. Stroud is expected to make his first collegiate start at quarterback against the Gophers.

Stroud, standing at 6-feet-3-inches entered Columbus, Ohio with a plethora of accolades. As a top-50 nationally ranked recruit he was expected to be next in line at quarterback for the Buckeyes, and his youth may also be an advantage for his offense. It is sometimes challenging for a team to prepare for a player that has had very little film to show at the division one level.

“I think he’s very talented, it speaks to the offers he had coming out of high school,” Gophers defensive coordinator Joe Rossi said. “You have to expect the unexpected, but he definitely has a lot of talent.”

The Gophers will be lasered in on slowing down Ohio State’s prolific passing attack and their game plan will start with their cornerback position. Redshirt senior Coney Durr will be Minnesota’s unquestioned leader at the position, but senior’s Terrell Smith and Phillip Howard will likely lead a rotation with freshmen, Miles Fleming and Justin Walley to round out the position group.

“I think the guys who have been repping all training camp, have all acquitted themselves very well,” Rossi said. “I have been pleased with that whole group and how they’ve worked.”

In order to pull off the upset Thursday night, there is no question that the Gophers will need to do much more than slow down Ohio State’s wide receivers. The Buckeyes are the No. 4 ranked team in the country for a reason, that has a lot to do with the program that they’ve built and the talent that they’ve added throughout the entire roster.

“They’re a team that reloads, they don’t rebuild, [they have] very talented guys that are coming in and playing, at every position they have depth, they have experience, they have guys that are really talented,” Fleck said. “They’re a really good football team, I think everybody knows that.”

After stating that the 2020-21 season would be his last at the collegiate level, veteran forward Eric Curry has had a change of heart, announcing his plans to play one final season with Minnesota.

Curry took to Instagram Tuesday afternoon posting a photo stating, “Let’s have one last dance, Gopher fans.” He captioned the post, “ONE more time 1⃣.”

Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Curry has had a tumultuous Gophers career. He made an instant impact as a true freshman, averaging 5.5 points per game. Unfortunately, he battled knee injuries, playing in only 15 games across the next three seasons. Last season as a redshirt senior was Curry’s healthiest since his freshman campaign. He played in 29 games, averaging 15.8 minutes and 3.7 points per contest.

“I’m so incredibly excited for Eric,” head coach Ben Johnson said in a statement. “I’m happy with how he is feeling physically first and foremost, and that he is hungry to compete and lead for one more year. I know he is pumped to be able to wear the maroon and gold and we are just as thrilled to have him back with us.”

Standing at 6-feet-9-inches, Curry will likely play a large role again for the Gophers in the upcoming season. He will serve as a much needed veteran post presence on a roster that lacks experience and depth in his position. After being previously recruited to Minnesota by then assistant Ben Johnson, Curry’s relationship with the now head coach could prove to be very valuable.

With the addition of Curry, the Gophers currently have two open scholarships spots, as Ben Johnson and his staff continue to construct the roster. We are currently 125 days away from Minnesota hosting UMKC on Nov. 9 to kick off the 2021-22 season.

In the summer before his senior year of high school, Parker Fox was playing AAU basketball for the Minnesota Heat. He and teammate Sean Sutherlin had desires of playing basketball past high school, but neither player was being recruited heavily at the scholarship level.

Nearly four years later Fox and Sutherlin are at Minnesota, their dream school, playing for the program they grew up rooting for.

Fox, from Mahtomedi, Minnesota, had a very productive high school career with the Zephyrs, finishing as the Mahtomedi High School record holder for points in one game (39), points per game (22) and points in one season (538). His success did not result in much attention on the recruiting scene, earning only one scholarship offer from Northern State University, a division two school.

After making the trip to Aberdeen, South Dakota for his official visit, Fox would commit to the school less than one week later. When he began his collegiate career, he redshirted his first year with the Wolves and prepared for his true redshirt-freshman campaign where he would finally have the opportunity to prove that he belonged.

In the 2018-19 season, his first as a collegiate basketball player, the 6-foot-8-inch forward led the Wolves in scoring off the bench averaging 10.5 points per contest along with 5.3 rebounds.

Fox bettered his stats the following year, and credits the extra work he put in off the court for his improvement.

“Spending a lot of time in the gym, a lot of time in the weight room and a lot of time watching film,” Fox said. “I just fell in love with the game and wanted to get better.”

He ended that season shooting a team-high 60.5% from the field while averaging a team-high 19.9 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. On the defensive side of the ball he led the team in blocks, with 75 on the season.

With serious expectations entering his redshirt-junior season, Fox lived up to the hype and then some. His 22.3 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.5 assists and nation’s best 3.5 blocks a game would earn him All-America honors. He put together two jaw-dropping performances, with 39 points and eight blocks against Moorhead, and 21 points and 21 rebounds against St. Cloud State.

Fox’s historic 2021 campaign led to serious success as a team for Northern State. The Wolves finished with a 19-2 record on the season, and reached the third round of the 2021 NCAA Division II National Tournament until falling short to eventual national champion Northwest Missouri State.

Following the season, he entered his name into the NCAA’s transfer portal. After being contacted by more than 100 schools, the high-flying wing opted to return home and play for the Gophers.

“I think that came from our team’s success to be honest with you. All of the best players in the country are usually on a pretty good team,” Fox said. “I played in 107 games and would win 90% of them. Playing for a program which expected excellence allowed me to strive to be a player that they looked at to score the rock.”

As a childhood Gophers fan, it made it hard for Fox to choose any other school than the one he grew up rooting for.

“I have always dreamed of being a Gopher, and he [Ben Johnson] knew that. Me and coach Johnson formed a really strong relationship and I get to come home and be 20 minutes from home so that’s really exciting to me,” Fox said.

He is now set to reunite with former AAU teammate Sean Sutherlin, who announced his plan to transfer to the school in late April.

Fox’s plan to contribute to the team right away has unfortunately hit a roadblock. After suffering a knee injury in a workout less than a week after commiting to the school, Fox will have a six-to-nine-month recovery time before he returns to full basketball activities.

Fox’s injury, the fact that the Gophers have a first-year head coach, nine total new players and only one returning from last year’s team raise serious concerns of how much success they can find this season.

“It motivates me even more. I have always kinda been the guy that has had the prove-them-wrong mentality,” Fox said. “Nobody thought that I should be playing division two basketball out of high school, so I have always been that guy that would love you to doubt me.”

After having surgery in late April, there is still a slim chance that Fox will be able to contribute in the upcoming season. If he is not able to make his Gophers’ debut during the 2021-22 campaign, however, he will still have two years of eligibility remaining.

The Gophers are fewer than 140 days away from tipping off their 2021-22 season on Nov. 9 against UMKC at Williams Arena.

Gophers volleyball seniors Stephanie Samedy and Airi Miyabe have both decided to utilize their option to return for an additional season of competition due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stephanie Samedy has already produced one of the most accomplished careers in school history. The opposite hitter is a four-time All-American and All-Big Ten selection for the Maroon and Gold. Last Spring, she had arguably her best season earning 2021 Big Ten Player of the Year. She now enters her final season of collegiate volleyball having totaled 1,485 kills, 1,127 digs and 1,724.5 points throughout her career.

“With the amount of adversity that we all faced this year, there are still many ways we can find the positive within the madness. And for me, that is the ability to continue representing the Maroon and Gold on the court!” Samedy said in an Instagram post. “I’m beyond excited and grateful to announce that I will be returning for one more season as a Gopher!”

Outside hitter Airi Miyabe is now entering her third season with the Gophers and fifth overall. Miyabe, hailing from Osaka, Japan, has appeared in 32 matches and 70 sets for the Gophers since transferring to the school from the College of Southern Idaho prior to the 2019 season. Since arriving in Minnesota, she has compiled 101 kills.

“I want to thank the Minnesota program, coaches, teammates and fans who have supported my Golden Gophers journey. I have been blessed by lots of great people, amazing experiences and countless love. Words can’t express how much I appreciate all of you,” Miyabe said in an Instagram post. “I would like to announce that I will be returning next year for the 2021 fall season as a Gopher!

With the addition of Samedy and Miyabe, Minnesota now returns 11 letterwinners into this season. After a 16-3 record last season and a second-round exit in the NCAA Tournament, the expectations will be high for the upcoming campaign.

After playing in the spring for the 2020-21 season, the Gophers will return back to their normal fall schedule this season. The 2021 fall season will begin Aug. 27-28 in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Big Ten/Big 12 Challenge against Baylor and TCU.

The University of Minnesota announced on June 11 that Erin Chastain has officially been named the head coach of the women’s soccer program.

Erin Chastain attended the University of Minnesota in the late 1990s, where she was a four-year starter and three-year captain for the women’s soccer team. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Carlson School of Management in 1997.

During her playing days, Chastain (then Hussey) was productive for the Maroon & Gold. She appeared in 82 contests throughout her four-year career, ranking eighth in program history in goals (29), and tied for seventh in assists (25).

Following her collegiate career, Chastain went into coaching. Before returning to the collegiate level, she was initially appointed as the head coach of the Wayzata and Edina U15 Girls’ Premier soccer teams near her hometown of Plymouth, Minnesota.

Her return to collegiate soccer began at Northwestern University, where she acted as the women’s soccer team’s top assistant coach. She stayed with the Wildcats for three seasons before leaving to coach women’s soccer at Santa Clara University.

Chastain assumed the same role as Santa Clara’s top assistant coach for five seasons and led them to great success. The Broncos were National runners up in 2002 and had a handful of other deep postseason runs into the national tournament.

After establishing herself as one of the top assistants in the country, Chastain was given the opportunity to become the head coach for DePaul University women’s soccer in 2007. She has spent the previous 14 seasons as the head coach of the Blue Demons and has found great success during her time with the school, tallying over 100 wins along with a record of 78-44-26 over the last eight seasons. She also led DePaul to two Big East regular season championships and reached a program high of No. 7 in the nation in 2014. She now leaves Chicago as one of the most effective head coaches in the program’s history.

“I am excited to welcome Erin and her family back home to Minnesota,” Gophers Athletics Director Mark Coyle said in a statement included in the University’s announcement. “Erin has a proven track record of success when it comes to recruiting, developing and coaching student-athletes, and I am thrilled for her to lead her alma mater.”

Long-time head coach Stefanie Golan resigned in late May before taking the same position at Missouri. During her time with the Gophers she amassed a record of 92-64-24 across nine seasons. Erin Chastain now looks to revitalize the Gophers’ program. Over the previous two seasons Minnesota has accumulated a record of 8-16-7, and Chastain looks to lead the program back to its winning ways.

Chastain brings in quite the resume of high-level recruiting. While at Santa Clara, Chastain helped bring in the nation’s top class in 2002 and the No. 4 class in 2004. While at DePaul the Blue Demons reached as high as the No. 21 class nationally.

“I could not be more excited to be named head coach of the Minnesota soccer program,” Chastain said in a statement. “I am so thankful to President Joan Gabel, director of athletics Mark Coyle, senior associate athletics director Tom McGinnis and the entire search committee for believing in me and trusting me to lead my alma mater.”

The school recently announced its plans to return to a traditional 10-game fall schedule this season after playing an altered spring campaign the previous year. The Chastain era will kick off on Sept. 18 in a Border Battle clash at home with Wisconsin.

“The University of Minnesota is a world-class institution, and I was so fortunate to be a Gopher student-athlete,” Chastain said in a statement. “This program and the entire state of Minnesota mean so much to me, so this really is a dream opportunity for me and my family. I can’t wait to meet the team and look forward to getting to work.”

After one season at Indian River State College (IRSC), 6-foot-3-inch guard Abdoulaye Thiam took to Twitter to announce his intentions to transfer to the University of Minnesota late last month.

Thiam, an Orlando, Florida native broke onto the basketball scene in high school, where he attended Dr. Phillips High School. He would flourish and quickly develop into one of the best prep talents in the state. During his senior season, Thiam would net 34 points en-route to a Florida Class 7A, District 3 championship victory over Ocoee High School.

“He’s one of the best shooters in the state,” said Dr. Phillips head coach Ben Witherspoon after the game.

Following a successful high school career, Thiam would opt to go the junior college route. After receiving very few scholarship options he would ultimately choose to stay home and attend Indian River State College located in Fort Pierce, Florida. The Pioneers compete at the NJCAA level, and Thiam saw it as an opportunity to work hard.

“Coming to JUCO [junior college] right away, you have to work right away,” Thiam said. “Everybody’s main goal is to go D1 obviously, so you have to come here [JUCO] with a set mindset, everybody is trying to make it out of JUCO.”

Thiam did just that. In his first season of collegiate basketball he averaged 15 points and 3.7 rebounds per-game on remarkable shooting numbers of 56.1% from the field and 48.5% from beyond the arc.

He would lead IRSC to the national junior college tournament in his lone collegiate season. He performed best under the bright lights, recording 23 points on 9-for-13 shooting from the field and 5-for-9 shooting from beyond the three-point line in a win vs. the College of Southern Idaho to reach the Elite Eight.

After a three point loss the following game, Thiam would receive a handful of Division One offers after the completion of his first collegiate season. Most notably Buffalo, Kent State and Coastal Carolina would all offer before the University of Minnesota.

“My mindset was always ‘I am going to go D1,’” Thiam said. “I never doubted that I was not going to go D1. I didn’t really start getting looks until we started making a tournament run, then I started having a lot of high major schools calling me.”

Thiam ultimately landed with the Gophers and first-year head coach Ben Johnson. The athlete took to Twitter to officially commit to the school on May 21 saying, “Let’s work.”

“Right now they’re in a rebuilding process, I would love to be a part of that,” Thiam said. “I like the school. I love the coach. I picked Minnesota because right now I feel like a lot of people are doubting the school; they’re thinking the basketball squad is falling apart, and they can’t get good recruits.”

The Gophers are entering a season with nine new players and counting, with Isaiah Ihnen as the lone returning player from last season. Thiam is well aware that it will likely be a rebuilding process heading into head coach Ben Johnson’s first season at the helm, but he is not shying away from the opportunity.

“Every recruit that we got, even the walk-ons, is a great fit, I am liking it,” Thiam said. “A lot of people have doubts about us and they don’t even know what is about to happen, so we just close our eyes, put our heads down and just work.”

When Thiam arrives in Dinkytown, it will be the first time that he has visited the land of 10,000 lakes. The Orlando, Florida native has seen snow only one other time, but he has already talked with some teammates to help him get acclimated with Minnesota and Gophers basketball.

“People are going to watch, and we’re gonna bring a show,” Thiam told new teammate Parker Fox.

The Gophers baseball team has shown flashes of high-level play this season, but it has not been able to string together nine consecutive innings of winning baseball in nearly a month. This weekend resulted in another three-loss series result.

Starting pitching woes continue Friday

To open this weekend’s series in College Park, Maryland, sophomore pitcher Trent Schoerberl started on the mound for the Gophers. He struggled out of the gate, surrendering six earned runs and five hits in only one and a third innings pitched.

The Maroon and Gold was never able to recover, trailing for the rest of the game and ultimately falling 12-4. Junior Chase Stanke was the most effective hitter on the team, finishing 2 for 4, recording two RBIs and one home run on the day.

The Gophers pitching staff surrendered 11 hits and nine walks in an effective day from the Maryland offense.

Offense stalls out in close battle Saturday

Left-hander Jack Liffrig took the mound first for the Gophers on Saturday. The 6-foot-1-inch redshirt sophomore gave the team six strong innings, only allowing two earned runs and four hits. Despite improvement on the mound from the previous day, the Gophers fell in a 4-3 heartbreaker.

Senior infielder Ronald Sweeny offered some run support with a two-run home run in the second inning, giving Minnesota a 2-1 lead. The lead lasted until the sixth inning when Liffrig allowed an RBI single. Nolan Burchill replaced Liffrig for the seventh.

The Gophers answered with a run of their own in the top of the seventh inning thanks to a passed ball, giving them a 3-2 lead. That was the last time the Gophers found themselves in the scoring column, as the Terrapins evened the ball game in the seventh.

Maryland completed the comeback with a walk-off walk in the final inning.

Gophers fall short in series finale Sunday

Minnesota head coach John Anderson opted to deploy lefty Tom Skoro as the team’s starting pitcher for Sunday’s series finale. The redshirt senior struggled, lasting only two and a third innings after allowing seven hits and four earned runs. The Gophers weren’t quite able to bounce back from their early struggles, allowing Maryland to complete the sweep with a 6-3 win.

The Gophers’ offense found an answer in the fifth inning. A solo home run from freshman infielder Boston Merila and a two-run shot from Sweeny cut Maryland’s lead to 4-3.

But Maryland added two more runs in the remaining innings to secure its third win of the series and extend the Gophers’ losing streak to 13 games.

Next weekend

After being on the wrong end of a sweep for four consecutive series, Minnesota (4-26) will look to get itself back in the win column next weekend when it welcomes Ohio State to Siebert Field for a three-game series.

Danielle O’Banion, an assistant coach on the Gophers women’s basketball team, was named the head coach of Loyola Maryland’s program, the school announced Friday.

O’Banion has been part of the Gophers’ coaching staff since Lindsay Whalen arrived for the 2017-18 season; she was also on staff during the team’s best run in program history from 2002-03 to 2006-07.

Responsibilities for O’Banion included contributing to the team’s defensive schemes, coaching post players and putting together scouting reports and game strategies. Off of the court, she was integral in the team’s recruiting and game scheduling.

“Coach Danny brought 20 years of coaching experience to our staff at the University of Minnesota,” Whalen said of O’Banion in a statement. “During her time here, Danny brought a passion for the game that was second to none. Her wealth of knowledge of the game will be a tremendous asset to Loyola University Maryland as she leads its women’s basketball program.”

She will be taking over a Loyola Maryland program that finished the 2020-21 campaign 0-13. Leading the Greyhounds in the Patriot League will be her second head coaching opportunity, as she previously led the Kent State women’s basketball program from 2008-12.

Associate head coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis and assistant coach Kelly Curry remain on the Gophers’ staff as the only two assistant coaches. There is no word on if the team will look to add a third.

The Gophers 2021-22 schedule has yet to be finalized, although they are scheduled to compete in the first-ever Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis. The early-season tournament will take place on Nov. 20-22 with some of the top programs in the country.

Gophers third baseman Jack Wassel was in the middle of his best season as a college baseball player, slashing a career-high .364 at the plate with 24 hits and 16 RBIs in only 18 games in his redshirt junior season. Unfortunately, everything suddenly came to an abrupt halt as COVID-19 began to impact everyone’s lives.

Wassel was later named the Big Ten’s Breakout Player and Breakout Hitter for the 2020 season by D1Baseball. His standout campaign created a belief among many that he would have a chance to be selected in the 2020 MLB draft between rounds 15-20.

Unfortunately, the bad news struck again, as the MLB then decided to reduce its draft by 80% — going from the normal 40 rounds to only five. The league also decided that $20,000 would be the maximum signing bonus for draft-eligible players not selected. The league’s decision reduced Wassel’s chances of getting drafted and played a large role in his decision to return for a fifth season donning the Maroon and Gold.

“Emotionally, it was a lot to handle. With COVID happening, I was kinda taken aback a little bit and had to reevaluate where I was as a player and where I was in my career,” Wassel said. “Going into the summer and the offseason, I had to make a decision, and I thought it was best for me to come back, and I am glad I made that decision.”

The Geneva, Illinois, native came back to Dinkytown with serious expectations. The Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation named Wassel to the 2021 Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award Watch List, an award given to the top college hitter in the nation based on performance at the plate, academics and personal integrity.

He was also tabbed as the sixth-best third baseman in the country according to D1Baseball, making him the highest-ranked player at his position within the Big Ten Conference. The accolades meant a lot to Wassel, but he has stayed motivated to keep getting better.

“With baseball, you can never be done with getting better at it. There are always new challenges,” Wassel said. “Focusing on that and not letting external factors motivate me, and more internal factors drive me to improve and become a better player every day.”

To begin his redshirt senior season in 2021, Wassel has been one of the most productive hitters on the Gophers roster. He has slashed .274 with two home runs and nine RBIs while starting in 21 of 22 games this season from the hot corner. As one of the team’s most consistent options at the plate, he is still looking for any area in which he can improve his game.

“It is just the mental side throughout my whole career: being able to slow the game down and understand how pitchers are trying to attack me and understanding where I should be positioned within the field,” Wassel said. “That’s been the most challenging part for me, getting to a mental headspace where I can reach my potential.”

Outside of Wassel and junior standout Zack Raabe, the Gophers have struggled to find a consistent rhythm, dropping nine of their last 10 games, and are 4-20 overall. Most recently, Iowa and Michigan swept Minnesota in a pair of three-game series. At the end of the day, baseball is a team game, and Wassel knows the Gophers will need everyone to consistently find themselves in the win column.

“When things aren’t going well, it’s really hard to kind of step back and realize what I can be doing to help the team,” he said. “You kind of don’t want to separate your success or your failure from how the team’s doing.”

Wassel knows the Gophers will need all hands on deck to get back on track as a team. The Gophers will look to get back in the win column when they take on Indiana this weekend.

“As a team, we need to find a way to trust the guy next to us, that he is going to do his best to succeed,” Wassel said. “If he is going to do that, I can trust that I will be able to do that.”