Isaiah Santos Signs With Minnesota Gophers

Isaiah Santos committed to the Minnesota Gophers men's basketball program on Wednesday, becoming the sole member of the team's 2027 recruiting class. The four-star small forward from Katy, Texas, turned 18 on Tuesday and signed with head coach Niko Medved's squad the following day.

Santos ranks 47th in the nation according to ESPN's Next 100 and 59th in the 247Sports Composite. He is listed at 6 feet 5 and 210 pounds. During his junior season at Seven Lakes High School, he averaged 22.6 points, 11.2 rebounds, and 3.0 steals per game. Those numbers earned him the all-Greater Houston boys basketball player of the year award for the 2025-26 season.

The decision to limit the class size stems from a new NCAA eligibility rule that permits players to compete for five seasons over five years. Because every current player on the Gophers roster can return for the 2027-28 campaign, Medved opted to add only one or two freshmen. Medved stated that the rule creates a roster crunch nationwide and forced the staff to consider carefully how many new players to bring in.

Santos received offers from nine other major programs, including Texas Tech, Colorado, Butler, Houston, Illinois, Central Florida, Vanderbilt, Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, Auburn, and Southern Methodist. He visited four of those schools before choosing Minnesota. His father, Alex Santos, attributed the decision to the relationship Medved and assistant coach Aaron Katsuma built with Isaiah.

Alex Santos, a former Brazilian national team player, moved to the United States to play at Park University in Missouri. He noted that Isaiah found a sense of family at Minnesota. The family has deep roots in the sport. Isaiah's mother, Andrea, holds the Kansas Jayhawks record for assists per set with 12.14 and ranks second in school history with 4,722 total assists.

Medved described Santos as a hybrid athlete with elite rebounding skills for his size. The coach compared Santos to former positionless players Nique Clifford and David Roddy, both of whom are currently in the NBA. Medved identified three-point shooting as an area for improvement. Santos will enroll at Minnesota in June and maintains a 4.0 grade-point average.

The recruit holds dual nationality with Brazil and played in the Under-18 AmeriCup in Mexico in June. He averaged 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds while helping Brazil win a bronze medal. Alex Santos said representing his country was a major pride moment for his son. The family also has a connection to NBA veteran Nene, with whom Alex played in Brazil before becoming his manager.