Data study · every season we hold

Where Minnesota High School Basketball Players Go to College

Of the 824 players from Minnesota high schools on a college roster in our data, 59% played their college basketball in Minnesota.

Computed from 824 players · 2020–21 to 2026–27 · updated Sep 1, 2026

824
players in the dataset
59%
stayed in Minnesota
22%
reached D1
Wisconsin
#1 destination outside Minnesota

59% stay in-state.

Minnesota is above the 43% all-state baseline.

Minnesota skews away from D1.

22% of Minnesota players in the dataset reached D1, against 36% nationally.

Wisconsin and North Dakota are the first destinations out.

Among players leaving Minnesota, 21% went to Wisconsin and 8% to North Dakota.

Minnesota's college players skew away from D1

Minnesota vs all states · share of players at each level

Minnesota

D122%
D225%
D352%

n = 824

All states

D136%
D223%
D341%

n = 29,117

MNAll statesDifference
D122%36%−14 pts
D225%23%+2 pts
D352%41%+11 pts

Where Minnesota players land

Destination states
Destination statePlayersShare
Minnesota48959%
Wisconsin729%
North Dakota283%
Iowa253%
South Dakota223%
Illinois182%
Texas142%
California111%

Which programs take Minnesota players

Historical landings
ProgramDivisionStatePlayers
HamlineD3Minnesota43
Bethany LutheranD3Minnesota36
AugsburgD3Minnesota32
Gustavus AdolphusD3Minnesota31
CrownD3Minnesota28
St. ScholasticaD3Minnesota27
Northwestern (MN)D3Minnesota26
St. OlafD3Minnesota24
Bemidji StateD2Minnesota19
MSU MoorheadD2Minnesota19

What this means for a Minnesota recruit

How to read it

Start local, but don't stop local.

59% of Minnesota players in the dataset stayed in-state — the programs most likely to see you play repeatedly are the ones nearby.

Your realistic level matters more than geography alone.

Minnesota's historical landings skew away from D1 (22% vs 36% nationally).

Past recruiting is a signal, not a guarantee.

A program that repeatedly rosters players from your state has demonstrated a pathway; it does not mean it will recruit you.

Those are the historical patterns for Minnesota. Where does your profile fit?Depth Chart scores your size, position, level and recruiting profile against all 1,060 programs.
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Methodology

Source · sample · scope

824 players · 1,060 programs · 2020–21 to 2026–27

Definitions and scope
Source
Official rosters published by the athletics sites of 1,060 NCAA D1, D2 and D3 men's programs, collected by Depth Chart.
Home state
The state of the high school on the player's record — the same definition the state tool uses, so the two read the same data the same way.
Level
Each player counts once, at the highest level they reached across the seasons we hold (D1 over D2 over D3).
Sample
824 players from Minnesota high schools, across every season we hold; roster coverage runs 2020–21 to 2026–27. A state with fewer than 200 players in our data is not published, because it would describe a coincidence rather than a pattern.
Computed
September 1, 2026 · methodology state-landing-pages-1
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