Minnesota's Dawson Garcia set to return for final season

Dawson Garcia will return to Minnesota for another season, his agent Jack Lieb of Fraction told On3.

The former Marquette and North Carolina transfer averaged 17.6 points and 6.7 rebounds this season for the Golden Gophers. The 6-foot-11, 230-pound forward will be a redshirt senior in the 2024 season, using his COVID year for his fifth and final year of eligibility.

The former four-star recruit is a Minnesota native but began his college career at Marquette, where he averaged 13 points and 6.6 rebounds as a freshman. Garcia struggled in his one year at Chapel Hill with North Carolina.

A second-team All-Big Ten selection this season, he led the team in points, rebounds and free-throw percentage.

As part of his decision to return to Minnesota, he has inked a one-year deal with the Golden Gopher-driven NIL collective, Dinkytown Athletes. Signing deals with collectives have become commonplace for college football and basketball athletes to sign when making a decision to pass on the professional level or not enter the transfer portal.

“I definitely think we’re continuing to go in the right direction,” Garcia said last month. “That’s what it’s about. We’ve got guys in the locker room, a whole coaching staff, a whole university that’s behind us that’s willing and committed to moving in the right direction.”

Minnesota finished the season 19-14 after a 9-22 year in 202-23. Garcia turned down the NBA draft and the transfer portal to return to Minneapolis for a final season. Gophers athletic director Mark Coyle said in early March he believed the program could be a preseason top-25 team next fall.

Since the transfer portal opened in March, small forward Joshua Ola-Joseph, forward Pharrel Payne and shooting guard Braeden Carrington have entered college basketball’s free agency.