Pair of 4-star pledges vault Minnesota into Top-20 of team recruiting rankings

Minnesota officially signed the No. 32 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle — per the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings — back in February. Longtime head coach P.J. Fleck and the Golden Gophers are aiming higher this cycle.

The Big Ten program is prioritizing local recruiting. This week, it has now gone to North and South Dakota to land the No. 1 prospect in each state.

On Monday, Lennox (S.D.) Rivals four-star tight end Drake Mikkelsen, the No. 10 TE in the Rivals300, announced his commitment to the Gophers. On Tuesday, it landed Kindred (N.D.) four-star TE Brooks Bakko, the No. 7 prospect at the position.

With the pair of blue-chip tight ends now in the mix, Minnesota is up to eight total commits and its 2027 class now checks in at No. 20 in the Rivals team rankings. Tuesday’s addition of Bakko jumped it up eight spots alone.

Gophers win out big for Mikkelsen and Bakko

Both Mikkelsen and Bakko were key targets for Fleck and the Minnesota staff. Rivals insider Allen Trieu broke down what the Gophers are getting in each tight end:

Mikkelsen: “I’m bullish on Mikkelsen being one of the best tight ends the Gophers will have gotten a commitment from in the P.J. Fleck era — this is with the knowledge that the industry was way off on Maxx Williams’ ranking in 2012 … Minnesota will be able to still use him as a flex guy a lot, but can also put the pounds onto his 210-pound frame and get him more reps with his hand down. That will be the biggest adjustment for him is what Minnesota may ask him to do as a blocker.”

Bakko: “Bakko is an explosive athlete who has run 11.2 in the 100-meter dash and stood out as a basketball player, making All-State. On the gridiron, he was the Gatorade Player of the Year with 41 receptions for 757 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also had 70 tackles, seven interceptions and three pass breakups on the defensive side of the ball … He is a very good athlete who has affected games in a lot of ways at Kindred. He can go with contested passes, he is a very good defensive player, special teams, jet sweeps, screens, you name it. As a route runner, he has very good body control and and twitch.”

More on Minnesota’s 2027 class

Minnesota made an early splash last April by landing a commitment from Minneapolis Wayzata four-star EDGE Eli Diane. He’s the top-ranked player in the state and will reach one year of being committed next week.

Diane is now the No. 199 recruit and No. 24 EDGE in the cycle. He’s one of four in-state commits in the class thus far, alongside a trio of Moorhead teammates in three-star quarterback Jett Feeney, three-star wide receiver David Mack and three-star running back Taye Reich.

The class also now checks in at No. 7 in the Big Ten, ahead of Michigan, Iowa, Penn State, Indiana and others. The full pledge list can be seen here.