Reggie Lynch will transfer to Minnesota

Center Reggie Lynch has announced his transfer from Illinois State and committed to the University of Minnesota, his home-state school, sources told the Star Tribune on Tuesday.

Lynch later tweeted: "I WILL BE SIGNING TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA TO CONTINUE MY COLLEGE BASKETBALL CAREER!"

The 6-10 Edina native averaged 9.5 points on 50.0 percent shooting and 5.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game as a sophomore, and had the nation's best block percentage according to Kenpom.com. He joins a recruiting class that includes four fall signees – guards Kevin Dorsey, Dupree McBrayer, Jarvis Johnson and big man Jonathan Nwankwo. The Gophers still have two scholarships available for 2015 that they're able to use in the spring signing period, which goes until May 20.

Per NCAA transfer rules, Lynch – the nephew of University of Minnesota and NBA alum Kevin Lynch -- will have to sit out one season before resuming his eligibility in 2016-17. His presence gives a raw position some depth and experience moving forward – next year, only Nwankwo and sophomore Bakary Konate can play at center.

Said uncle Kevin Lynch: "I'm bittersweet about this move. I'm happy for him and I hope he can reach his goals -- he's always wanted to go to Minnesota. At the same time, everybody needs to know that [Illinois State coach] Dan Muller and everybody in the program treated [Reggie] terrifically and so he's leaving a really good situation."