Gophers men’s basketball lands big-man transfer Frank Mitchell from Canisius

Canisius transfer Frank Mitchell adds a physical presence to the frontcourt for Gophers coach Ben Johnson with his commitment Wednesday.

The 6-8, 240-pound Mitchell committed after his two-day official visit with the Gophers men’s basketball team. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference second-team performer picked Minnesota over Texas Christian and Missouri, and he has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

Mitchell averaged 12.1 points and 11.6 rebounds, the latter of which ranked fourth nationally this past season. Mitchell had 15 double-doubles and 12 games with at least 14 rebounds for the Golden Griffins in the 2023-24 season.

In his last regular-season game, Mitchell had 13 points, a career-high 22 rebounds and four blocks in an overtime win against Manhattan. He also had 12 points and 21 rebounds in a loss to Rider in January.

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Mitchell sat out the 2022-23 season after transferring from Humber College in Toronto. He averaged 14.5 points and 18 rebounds as a freshman during Humber’s Canadian College Athletic Association national championship season in 2021-22. He committed to Vincennes University out of high school in 2021, but he returned home before playing for the junior college in Indiana.

The Gophers landed Mitchell in hopes of helping to fill the void left by starting sophomore big man Pharrel Payne, who entered the transfer portal. Mitchell bolsters a frontcourt that returns the U’s leading scorer and rebounder, Dawson Garcia; senior Parker Fox; and redshirt freshman Kadyn Betts.

Mitchell is the first Canadian to join the Gophers since fellow Toronto native Marcus Carr, who played for the program from 2018-21.