After adding two players from the transfer portal this offseason, the Gophers' 2025-26 roster is likely finalized with the majority of their core from last season returning. After winning the 2025 Women's Basketball Invitational Tournament (WBIT), there's plenty of momentum heading into the season, and one analyst thinks Minnesota can be a top 20 team.

The Athletic's Chantel Jennings released a post-transfer top 25, and the Gophers are 17th on her list. They're the sixth-ranked Big Ten team.

Minnesota will return its six top scorers from last season and seven of its top 10. Third-year head coach Dawn Plitzuweit will have 81% of her team's scoring back in Dinkytown. With the additions of Kansas State's Brylee Glenn and UAB's Tracy Bershers from the transfer portal, there are very few holes on the roster.

The biggest question for this team will be health. Mara Braun has proven that she can be the No. 1 option on a great team and an All-Big Ten-level player, but she has played only 27 total games in the last two seasons combined. They will also return veteran forward Taylor Woodson, who averaged 8.1 points in 12 games last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury.

Tori McKinney was the breakout star of Minnesota's WBIT run last season, averaging 14.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game, capped off by a career-high 26 points in the title game. She'll likely come off the bench, and if healthy, the Gophers could legitimately go 10 players deep in 2025-26.

After winning 25 games last season and returning the majority of their roster, it's entirely plausible for Minnesota to begin 2025-26 in the top 25. It will be year three for Plitzuweit and anything less than an appearence in the NCAA Tournament would seem like a disappointment next season.