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Minnesota announces hiring of Niko Medved as new head basketball coach

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

Minnesota has its new head basketball coach.

The program is bringing home alumnus Niko Medved, who spent the 7 seasons at Colorado State. CSU is coming off an NCAA Tournament upset win over Memphis and a 1-point loss to Maryland.

“This is an exciting day for our program, our University and our state,” athletic director Mark Coyle said in a program release. “I am thrilled to welcome Niko, his wife Erica and their daughters, Aly and Taylor to Minnesota. Niko is a Minnesota alum with a proven head coaching track record. He is extremely passionate about coaching and developing young men and takes great pride in being from Minnesota. He has had success everywhere he has been, and we look forward to him leading our men’s basketball program at his alma mater.”

Medved comes to Minnesota with 12 seasons of head coaching experience. He has a 222-172 overall record after going 143-85 at Colorado State.

“I want to thank President Rebecca Cunningham, Mark Coyle and everyone involved in the search, as this really is a dream job for me,” Medved said in a released statement. “I loved my time at Colorado State, and I worked with tremendous people who made a lasting impact on my life. Those are memories that I will cherish forever.

“This job was too special to pass up and when the opportunity presented itself, I had to take it. I grew up a Gopher about 15 minutes away from The Barn. I went to school here, was a student manager here and coached here. This is a special place, it’s home, and I cannot wait to get started.”

Medved took CSU to the NCAA Tournament in 2022, ’24 and ’25. He replaces Ben Johnson, who was let go after the Big Ten Tournament.

Andrew Olson

A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.