Gophers reportedly interested in College of Charleston transfer guard

The transfer portal is 'closed' for new entrants, but the Gophers remain active, contacting uncommitted players. According to a X post from The Portal Report on Thursday, Minnesota is one of 13 teams that have shown interest in College of Charleston transfer guard AJ Smith.

Smith is a 6-foot-5, score-first guard who averaged 11.5 points and 3.1 rebounds per game last season on 43.1/25.0/75.2 shooting splits. He began his career at The Citadel, where he played for two seasons, before playing for Chris Mack and the Cougars in 2024-25.

Based on his interest list, Minnesota could have some stiff competition in his recruitment, as Duke, BYU and Washington highlight a loaded group of schools to show interest. Duke and BYU are viewed as two programs with some of the deepest pockets in the sport.

It's worth taking interest lists with a grain of salt in the modern transfer portal era, as there's likely a wide-ranging level of interest between all 13 programs on the list. A school like Winthrop is likely having a much different conversation with Smith than a school like Utah.

Related: Temple transfer forward reportedly lists Gophers among three final choices

Smith has one year of eligibility left, and he could compete for a reserve role on the Gophers, as potentially their eighth or ninth man based on their current roster. Ultimately, the biggest takeaway from recruits mentioning that they've received interest from Minnesota is that Niko Medved and his staff are far from done adding to their 2025-26 roster.

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