Gophers forward Dawson Garcia named Preseason All-Big Ten
Dawson Garcia #3 celebrates with Cam Christie #24 of the Minnesota Golden Gophers against the Northwestern Wildcats in the second half at Williams Arena on February 03, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Golden Gophers defeated the Wildcats 75-66 in (David Berding / Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - University of Minnesota men’s basketball forward Dawson Garcia was named Preseason All-Big Ten on Tuesday.
The Gophers started practice for the 2024-25 season last week and are coming off a 19-15 season, which included nine Big Ten wins and a win at Butler in the NIT. Ben Johnson enters his fourth season as the Gophers’ head coach.
Why it matters
Garcia is the Gophers’ top returning scorer (17.6 points pe game) and rebounder (6.7 per game) from last season. He was also an All-Big Ten pick last year, and returned to Minnesota for his final year despite entertaining bigger NIL opportunities from other programs. Of the Big Ten’s returning players, Garcia is the top scorer.
Garcia had 28 games scoring in double digits last season. He had 12 20-point games, and three 30-point games.
Garcia’s path to Minnesota
The former Prior Lake star spent his freshman season at Marquette. He then transferred to North Carolina after Steve Wojciechowski was fired. He left the Tar Heels during that season to be closer to home, with family dealing with COVID-19 issues. Garcia then transferred to the Gophers, and is playing his third season at Minnesota.
What’s next
The Gophers, instead of having a secret scrimmage against another Power 4 program, will have a pair of exhibition games at Williams Arena. They will host Bemidji State on Oct. 19, and Hamline on Oct. 29. The regular season opener is Nov. 6 against Oral Roberts.