Tori McKinney Out for the Season as Minnesota Loses 12.7 Points Two Weeks Before Tipoff

Photo: Minnesota Athletics / Brady Paitrick. Tori McKinney, Minnesota women's basketball guard.

Minnesota junior guard Tori McKinney will miss the entire 2026-27 season with a knee injury she suffered in practice last week, head coach Dawn Plitzuweit announced Monday. The Gophers lose their leading scorer, a 12.7-point sophomore who made the All-Big Ten second team, exactly two weeks before the Nov. 2 opener against Harvard at The Barn.

Her numbers

McKinney averaged 12.7 points across 29 games last season and 14.4 once Big Ten play started, per the Star Tribune. She started all 29 games she played, KSTP reported, and averaged double figures in each of her first two seasons. Minnesota's season stats list her at 46.2% from the field, 34.0% from three and 82.8% at the line, with 57 steals and 75 assists. The Minnesota Daily reports both her scoring and her steals rose from her freshman year, when she averaged 10.6 points with 47 steals.

Big Ten coaches put her on their All-Defensive team, and she made the All-Big Ten second team.

Minnesota went 24-9 and 13-5 in the conference, per FOX 9, and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005. That run ended in Sacramento on March 27 with an 80-56 loss to UCLA, the eventual national champion, according to the Minnesota Daily and KSTP.

The summer before

In September, McKinney was MVP of the FIBA U23 3x3 World Cup in China and led Team USA to gold, per the Star Tribune. She also represented the program at Big Ten Media Day last week, FOX 9 reported.

What the program said

The release gave no injury detail beyond a season-ending knee injury suffered in practice last week, and no surgery timeline.

"We are heartbroken for Tori," Plitzuweit said, adding that over the past two years McKinney has grown "into a vocal leader" and continued to "shine on the biggest stages."

Plitzuweit also said McKinney "will not face this challenge alone," with teammates, coaches and the medical staff behind her, and that the staff "cannot wait for her to be back on the court with us next season."

Who carries it now

The Gophers still have returning starters Mara Braun and Grace Grocholski, plus additions from the transfer portal, according to FOX 9. Grocholski averaged 12.1 points last season and Braun 11.7, per Minnesota's season stats.

McKinney, a Minnetonka native per FOX 9, is a junior, so a return next season would come in 2027-28.

Minnesota opens Monday, Nov. 2, against Harvard at The Barn, with tipoff time not yet announced and the game on BTN Plus. The Gophers will play it without her.

Sources

• University of Minnesota Athletics: McKinney Suffers Season-Ending Knee Injury. Oct. 19, 2026. Official announcement, Plitzuweit statement, photo.
• Star Tribune: Gophers women's basketball suffers major setback with Tori McKinney out for season. Oct. 19, 2026. 12.7 points, 14.4 in conference play, All-Big Ten second team, All-Big Ten defensive team, FIBA U23 3x3 World Cup MVP and gold, first Sweet 16 since 2005.
• FOX 9: Gophers lose Tori McKinney to season-ending knee injury. Oct. 19, 2026. 24-9 season, 13-5 Big Ten, Big Ten Media Day, Braun and Grocholski, Nov. 2 opener vs. Harvard.
• KSTP: Gophers women's basketball loses Tori McKinney to a season-ending knee injury. Oct. 19, 2026. Started all 29 games played, double-figure scoring in first two seasons.
• Minnesota Daily: McKinney wins gold and MVP in 3x3 at the U23 World Cup. Sept. 29, 2026. Freshman 10.6 points and 47 steals, 57 steals last season, 80-56 Sweet 16 loss to UCLA.
• Minnesota Athletics: 2025-26 Cumulative Statistics. Shooting splits and steals, plus scoring for Braun and Grocholski.