University of Minnesota Athletics
Players Mentioned
F
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
Bailey Helgren Joining Gophers as Grad Transfer
4/17/2021 11:19:00 AM | Women's Basketball
MINNEAPOLIS – Minnesota women's basketball head coach Lindsay Whalen has announced that Bailey Helgren has signed a financial aid agreement to join the Golden Gophers program.
An Edina, Minn., native who graduated from Edina High School, Helgren is a 6'5 center who spent the past four seasons at the University of Kansas. She will join Minnesota as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility.
"We are thrilled to bring Bailey back home to our Minnesota women's basketball family," Whalen said. "Joining us as a graduate transfer, she will bring immediate experience and size to our roster. She is not only a great presence in the paint at 6'5, but she will be a great fit for our culture and growth of the program. We are looking forward to her joining us this summer."
In her four seasons of competition with the Jayhawks, Helgren played in 95 games with 72 starts and averaged 2.6 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 53.6 percent from the floor in 21.1 minutes of action. In the classroom, she was a two-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree and a member of the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team for the 2017-18 season.
"I'm so thankful for the opportunity to come play at home," Helgren said. "Growing up I was always a fan of the Gophers, so it's surreal to finish my career out playing for Coach Whalen and her staff. The people within the program make it special. I can't wait to get on campus this summer."
Helgren played in the first seven games of the 2020-21 season before opting out the remainder of the year. She scored 14 points, pulled down 39 rebounds and blocked seven shots in those seven games.
As a junior, Helgren played in 29 games with 24 starts, averaging a personal-best 3.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per contest and shooting 60.5 percent from the floor. She led KU in blocked shots six times and had more than three blocks in a game twice. Among her season highlights were a 4-of-4 performance from the floor vs. Indiana State on Nov. 7.
In 2018-19, Helgren played in all 31 contests and started a career-high 29 games. In addition to recording 2.8 points per contest, Helgren posted a career-best 5.8 rebounds and shot 52.9 percent from the field. She recorded nine or more rebounds on six occasions and surpassed the total number of rebounds from her rookie campaign (74) just 12 games into the season. Helgren registered a career-high 10 points against Oral Roberts on Nov. 13, swatted away a career-high five blocks against Kansas City on Nov. 7 and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds at Texas Tech on Jan. 9.
As a freshman, Helgren appeared in 28 games with 19 starts, averaging 1.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 15.0 minutes of action. She scored a season-high eight points against TCU on Dec. 31, grabbed a season-best eight rebounds on two separate occasions, and blocked three shots against Nebraska on Dec. 16.
Coming out of Edina, Helgren was ranked No. 89 overall by Blue Star Report. She earned all-conference honors at the conclusion of the 2015 and 2016 seasons and was named team captain for the 2016-17 season. She also lettered in track & field, earning academic all-state honors.
Helgren will be joining a Minnesota squad that is set to return all 13 members from last season after this past week's announcement that Gadiva Hubbard and Laura Bagwell Katalinich are returning for an additional season of competition.
An Edina, Minn., native who graduated from Edina High School, Helgren is a 6'5 center who spent the past four seasons at the University of Kansas. She will join Minnesota as a graduate transfer with one year of eligibility.
"We are thrilled to bring Bailey back home to our Minnesota women's basketball family," Whalen said. "Joining us as a graduate transfer, she will bring immediate experience and size to our roster. She is not only a great presence in the paint at 6'5, but she will be a great fit for our culture and growth of the program. We are looking forward to her joining us this summer."
In her four seasons of competition with the Jayhawks, Helgren played in 95 games with 72 starts and averaged 2.6 points and 4.7 rebounds while shooting 53.6 percent from the floor in 21.1 minutes of action. In the classroom, she was a two-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree and a member of the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team for the 2017-18 season.
"I'm so thankful for the opportunity to come play at home," Helgren said. "Growing up I was always a fan of the Gophers, so it's surreal to finish my career out playing for Coach Whalen and her staff. The people within the program make it special. I can't wait to get on campus this summer."
Helgren played in the first seven games of the 2020-21 season before opting out the remainder of the year. She scored 14 points, pulled down 39 rebounds and blocked seven shots in those seven games.
As a junior, Helgren played in 29 games with 24 starts, averaging a personal-best 3.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per contest and shooting 60.5 percent from the floor. She led KU in blocked shots six times and had more than three blocks in a game twice. Among her season highlights were a 4-of-4 performance from the floor vs. Indiana State on Nov. 7.
In 2018-19, Helgren played in all 31 contests and started a career-high 29 games. In addition to recording 2.8 points per contest, Helgren posted a career-best 5.8 rebounds and shot 52.9 percent from the field. She recorded nine or more rebounds on six occasions and surpassed the total number of rebounds from her rookie campaign (74) just 12 games into the season. Helgren registered a career-high 10 points against Oral Roberts on Nov. 13, swatted away a career-high five blocks against Kansas City on Nov. 7 and grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds at Texas Tech on Jan. 9.
As a freshman, Helgren appeared in 28 games with 19 starts, averaging 1.2 points and 2.6 rebounds in 15.0 minutes of action. She scored a season-high eight points against TCU on Dec. 31, grabbed a season-best eight rebounds on two separate occasions, and blocked three shots against Nebraska on Dec. 16.
Coming out of Edina, Helgren was ranked No. 89 overall by Blue Star Report. She earned all-conference honors at the conclusion of the 2015 and 2016 seasons and was named team captain for the 2016-17 season. She also lettered in track & field, earning academic all-state honors.
Helgren will be joining a Minnesota squad that is set to return all 13 members from last season after this past week's announcement that Gadiva Hubbard and Laura Bagwell Katalinich are returning for an additional season of competition.
Cinematic Recap: Gophers Win at Drake
Tuesday, December 23
Highlights: Gophers 68, Drake 43
Sunday, December 21
Cinematic Recap: Gophers-Wyoming
Tuesday, December 16
Highlights: Gophers 80, Wyoming 34
Sunday, December 14