Kevin Lynch’s Nephew Transferring to U of M

Minneapolis, MN (Gophersports.com) - University of Minnesota head men’s basketball coach Richard Pitino announced Wednesday the addition of center Reggie Lynch (Edina, Minn./Edina), who will transfer from Illinois State University. The 6’10”, 253-pound Lynch played two seasons with the Redbirds and will have two years of eligibility remaining after he sits out the 2015-16 season due to NCAA transfer rules.

“We are very excited about the addition of Reggie Lynch,” Pitino said. “He was one of the best players on a very good team in a proven conference. We expect him to make an immediate impact. Most importantly, Reggie has grown up dreaming of being a Gopher. He will wear the Maroon and Gold with pride.”

Lynch is coming off an All-Missouri Valley Conference second team season, as well as earning All-Defensive and All-MVC Tournament team honors. In two years at ISU, Lynch recorded 189 career blocks, second on the school’s all-time list. In that category, he was the conference leader and ranked 14th in the nation with 2.8 blocks per game. This year, Lynch led the Redbirds in rebounds (178, 5.4 rpg) and ranked third in scoring (9.5 ppg).

During his freshman campaign, Lynch picked up All-Newcomer and All-Freshman accolades from the MVC and set the MVC and Illinois State freshman single-season blocks records with 96 total blocks. Lynch also set the ISU freshman single-season field goal percentage mark, with a 110-for-189 (58.2 percent) average, which led Illinois State and ranked second in the MVC. He was the Redbirds’ leading rebounder (164, 4.8 rpg) and fourth-leading scorer at 8.3 points per game.

Lynch is the nephew of former Golden Gopher and NBA player Kevin Lynch.