Gophers men's basketball walk-on Jackson Purcell gets scholarship surprise

Gophers walk-on guard Jackson Purcell had a moment he'll never forget with his basketball teammates and coaches during the team's end-of-summer softball game.

A 6-5 redshirt freshman from Apple Valley, Purcell found out he would be on scholarship for the 2023-24 season during an announcement before he batted for Ben Johnson's team.

Gophers players and the coaching staff rushed out to home plate to surround and congratulate him before he hit an inside-the-park home run in his first plate appearance. The cheering continued for Purcell.

The Gophers added him as a walk-on out of Eastview during the 2021-22 season, but Purcell missed that season because of an injury. He played one game last season while making his Gophers debut in the opening win vs. St. Francis Brooklyn.

Purcell, a finance major enrolled in the U's Carlson School of Management, was named to the All-Big Ten academic team this year.

Johnson awarded a scholarship to a walk-on for the second consecutive year, after forward Will Ramberg received one for the 2022-23 season.

Two former Gophers wrestlers are scheduled to compete Friday night at Bellator 298 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

The main event features No. 1 Logan Storley (14-2), a four-time All-America at Minnesota from 2011-15, against No. 7 Brennan Ward (17-6) in a welterweight bout.

In a preliminary bout, Michael Blockhus will make his professional debut in mixed martial arts with a featherweight bout against Eli Mefford (0-4). Blockhus finished his Gophers career in March when he finished eighth at the NCAA Championships to earn his first career All-America honor.