Big Ten Player of the Year Steph Samedy announced that she will use her “bonus year” of collegiate eligibility to play for the Gophers again this fall. Super Sub Airi Miyabe will also. No word, to my knowledge, regarding Regan Pittman.* * For what it’s worth, I’ve been thinking that Pittman would be more likely to return than Samedy. We shall see.
Samedy, Miyabe and Pittman were all “seniors” in terms of eligibility this past season (all in graduate school). But the NCAA announced last fall that competing during the 2020-2021 Pandemic Season would not count against anyone’s eligibility, giving these 3 and thousands of other athletes nation-wide, in all sports, a “bonus year.”
I think it is true that there were zero transfer restrictions, so athletes can play anywhere they choose. Those of you that follow men’s basketball probably know that, at least partially due to a coaching change, the Gophers lost 11 of last season’s12-man roster to transfers, and have filled their roster for the coming season with replacement transfers.
I love Miyabe and am glad to see her return, but Samedy is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year. Not a Big Ten Player of the Year, but THE Big Ten Player of the Year! The Gophers should have been strong this fall without Samedy; the return of Samedy makes them one of the top teams in the country.
We’ll find out how good early. The Gophers open their season vs
- Baylor (8/27 at Madison)
- TCU (8/28 at Madison)
- Texas (9/1 at the Pav)
- Florida (9/5 at Florida)
- Stanford (9/10 at Eugene) &
- Oregon (9/11 at Eugene)
These are practically the top 6 teams in the country outside the Big Ten!