Northwestern F Tayla Thomas commits to Minnesota Golden Gophers
The Minnesota Gophers Women’s Basketball transfer portal haul is officially underway. After what has felt like a quieter start than fans were hoping for, the Gophers have a new addition — and it’s a big one, literally. Northwestern transfer forward Tayla Thomas is heading to Minneapolis.
What to Know About Tayla Thomas
Tayla Thomas is a 6’3″ post player who has spent her first two seasons of collegiate basketball with Northwestern. As a prep player from New Jersey, she was rated the No. 56 recruit in the class of 2024 by ESPN HoopGurlz.
In her true freshman season with the Wildcats, Tayla played in 20 games, averaging about 8 minutes a game. Her best game in Big Ten play as a freshman was vs #10 Ohio State. Against the Buckeyes, she saw 25 minutes, scoring 5 points and adding 6 rebounds.
Thomas took a big step this past year as a sophomore, starting 28 of 29 games. She averaged 9.7 points and 7.2 rebounds a game. In her sophomore season, she had five double-double games, including a monster performance of 30 points and 11 rebounds vs Loyola Chicago. Thomas finished the year with a strong game vs Illinois as well. Against Illinois, she had 25 points and 6 rebounds along with 2 made 3 pointers. Her three-point percentage isn’t a strong aspect of her game, but the ability to make a 3 definitely adds something that the Minnesota Gophers bigs were unable to do last season.
What Does Tayla Thomas Bring to the Minnesota Gophers
First and foremost, Thomas adds a post presence that the Gophers absolutely need. If you watch Tayla Thomas play, she has a strong and physical game in the post. Similar to Finau Tonga last season, Tayla is going to be a punisher for defenders trying to slow her down in the paint. Additionally, Thomas’ ability to rebound the ball is a great addition to this Minnesota squad as well. Tayla had 9 games last season with 10+ rebounds. Her season high was 18 rebounds vs DePaul.
At first glance, one element that Tayla will need to work on with this Gophers coaching staff is the ability to kick the ball back out to an open shooter once she draws a second defender. This Minnesota Gophers team is full of three-point shooters, and her physical post presence can free up some open looks, as we saw with Sophie Hart last season. Seeing the improvements that both Tonga & Hart made in the post, I expect that her efficiency and FG% will both improve with this Minnesota coaching staff.
Her role will be dependent on how the Gophers round out this roster. At minimum, she plays a rotational role similar to Tonga’s — perhaps even slightly more. Yet if the Gophers don’t add another traditional center in the portal, then Tayla Thomas could find herself as a starting big for this Minnesota Gophers team.
Tayla Thomas will have two more years of eligibility to play with the Minnesota Gophers starting this season.
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