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Gophers men’s basketball walk-on guard Jackson Purcell had a moment he’ll never forget with his teammates and coaches during the team’s end-of-summer softball game.
A 6-5 redshirt freshman from Apple Valley, Purcell found out he would be on scholarship for the 2023-24 season during an announcement before coming to the plate for coach Ben Johnson’s team.
Gophers players and coaching staff crowded around him to celebrate on the field before he hit an inside-the-park home run on his first plate appearance. The cheering continued for Purcell.
The Gophers added him as a walk-on out of Eastview during the 2021-22 season, but Purcell missed that season with an injury. He played one game last season while making his Gophers debut in the opening win vs. St. Francis Brooklyn.
Purcell, a finance major enrolled in the U’s Carlson School of Management, was named to the All-Big Ten academic team this year.
Johnson awarded a scholarship to a walk-on for the second straight year, including forward Will Ramberg for the 2022-23 season.
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