East Ridge’s Cedric Tomes is the first 2026 commit to Niko Medved and the Gophers

Medved is getting a PG from East Ridge for his 2026 class

Niko Medved and staff have secured their first 2026 recruit and it is a nice point guard from East Ridge.

Point guard is always the toughest position to secure and the Gopher basketball program should have the position handled for the forseeable future with Isaac Asuma and now Cedric Tomes.

Cedric Tomes

Pos: PG
Ht: 6’0”
Wt: 160

Tomes had a fantastic junior season for East Ridge where he averaged just over 27 points per game and was the conference player of the year. And he is currently some of the other top juniors in the state as a part of D1 Minnesota.

This recruitment is a testament to Dave Thorson maintaining the relationship throughout this transition and the decision became easy for Tomes after getting to know Medved a little bit.

Tomes is a top 5 player in the state of Minnesota and had offers from Iowa State, Oklahoma, Saint Louis and Northern Iowa. A rising point this spring and Tome is going to bring an attacking mentality with a nice shooting stroke. Feels like his game is rather similar to Asuma’s with maybe more of a offensive game.

What is next?

This is a great fit for Medved and the program. Finding a quality starting point guard and depth at the position has been a challenge for the Gophers several years in recent memory. Asuma is the starting point guard for as long as he’s wearing maroon and gold, but Tomes is going to have the opportunity to back him up initially before taking over the offense as he matures.

But make no mistake, he will play and he will play early in his career. This is a really nice committment for Medved.

Next? It is much harder to project recruiting needs in today’s college basketball environment. High school recruiting is less of a priority than it once was but still, we need more.

Ryan Keager, a 6’9” big from Faribault is a priority for the staff and would be another nice addition to balance the roster in terms of positions and class balance. Keager was already being recruited by Colorado State, so there is a relationship there and it feels like a good fit for all parties. Dothan Ijadimbola is another local prospect that has been offered by Medved and would be a great addition as a win.

But Tomes is the first chip of this 2026 class and I think this is going to be a great fit.

Below is some bonus highlights of Tomes at a Chicago event from a couple weeks ago.