RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesUNIVERSITY PARK, PA - FEBRUARY 01: Head coach Niko Medved of the Minnesota Golden Gophers addresses the media after a college basketball game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Bryce Jordan Center on February 1, 2026 in University Park Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images) | Getty Images
Niko Medved and staff have secured a verbal commitment from one of the highest-rated recruits in Gopher history. Isaiah Santos, a 4-star forward from Texas, is currently ranked 77th nationally and was highly sought after by Butler, Texas Tech, Colorado, Houston, Illinois and Vandy.
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Santos is originally from Colorado but now lives in Katy, Texas, just outside of Houston, where he plays for Seven Lakes High School. He has been methodically taking his visits and other programs were routinely prioritizing his AAU games this summer. Over the past month, Santos has visited Texas Tech, Butler, Colorado and Minnesota. It was Minnesota who resonated best for Santos and on Tuesday he committed to play for the Gophers.
ISAIAH SANTOS Pos : F Ht : 6’5” Wt : 210
As mentioned, Santos plays for Seven Lakes High School and he led the Spartans to a 35-0 record before getting upset in a regional semi-final in the playoffs. He already holds the school record for career rebounding; he was the Greater Houston Player of the Year and was the District MVP this past season. He averaged 22.6 points and 11.2 rebounds per game.
Santos also plays for the Brazilian U18 national team and they just finished third in the FIBA U18 AmeriCup, where he averaged 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds.
So what will Santos bring to The Barn next year? He is a player who plays with a lot of toughness, competitiveness & physicality, which he uses to rebound well and get going downhill to the rim. He has great court awareness on both ends of the floor and should be an ideal fit into the systems that Medved employs.
I suspect that Santos is going to be an eerily similar fit to David Roddy when he played for Medved at Colorado State.
What is next?
This is a fantastic get for Medved and the program, and it is a massive first piece of the 2027 class.
The next big name on the target list is Ahmed Nur, the 6’9” power forward who played for Hopkins last year. Nur is heading to Arizona for his senior season to play at a prep school down there, but the Gophers are very much in the race for him. This summer, Nur blew up after taking home MVP honors at a Top 100 camp and is a top-25 recruit. He is more of a stretch forward than a big man who will be physical in the frontcourt. But he is an elite shooter and would fit perfectly in Medved’s offense.
Jaxson Davis is another highly ranked, 4-star recruit who the staff is actively recruiting. He is a 6’ point guard out of Kansas City who currently ranks in the top 50 seniors and he has official visits set for Iowa and Michigan State this fall.
The staff also has an offer out to Malik Olajuwon, a 6’4” shooting guard who is the son of the NBA Hall of Famer. He is a top 150-ranked guard who is also out of Texas and Minnesota is going to have to fend of a few local schools who are also pursuing him.
The recruiting pipeline for Medved and staff is impressive. If they can land any of these three names, to go along with a roster that potentially has a lot of returners, this program will turn around very quickly.
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