As the calendar flips to May, the 2025–2026 Minnesota Golden Gophers athletic year is racing toward its finish line. Spring sports are entering their final stretches, with conference tournaments either kicking off this weekend or looming just ahead—provided teams can secure their spots. This weekend brings both a Big Ten Tournament and a high-stakes play-in scenario for one Gopher squad. Here’s your full weekend preview, complete with how to follow all the action.
First up, the Gopher men’s golf team heads west to Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club in Oregon for the 2026 Big Ten Men’s Golf Tournament. The team will play 18 holes each day from Friday through Sunday. Sophomore Jack Crousore and freshman Joe Honsa have been constants in the lineup, competing in all 10 tournaments this season. Crousore has been a standout, placing inside the top 10 three times—including a victory at the Robert Kepler Invitational on April 11–12. Honsa, meanwhile, has shot under par in three events, posting a career-best 54-hole score of 5-under-par at The Johnnie-O on March 9–10. Tee times begin at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, with live scoring available online.
On the diamond, the Gopher softball team closes out its Big Ten regular season with a critical three-game series at Northwestern, starting Friday at 1 p.m. This series is essentially a play-in for the Big Ten Tournament. Minnesota enters the weekend with a 15–33 overall record and a 6–15 mark in conference play, tied for 12th place with Iowa and just one game ahead of Rutgers. Only the top 12 teams qualify for next week’s tournament, so the Gophers need to outperform both the Hawkeyes and Scarlet Knights to keep their season alive. Iowa faces 10th-place Purdue at home, while Rutgers travels to 7th-place Wisconsin. Northwestern, meanwhile, brings a 27–19 overall record and a 14– conference mark into the series, making this a tough but winnable challenge for Minnesota.
Whether you’re tracking birdies on the course or cheering for clutch hits at the plate, this weekend is packed with do-or-die energy for the Maroon and Gold. Stay tuned for updates, and gear up to support your Gophers!