Michael Blockhus, a native of Cresco, Iowa, will join the Gophers wrestling team this season after two seasons at Northern Iowa. He is projected to compete at 149 pounds as a redshirt sophomore.

Blockhus compiled a 40-14 record for the Panthers, including a 22-10 mark as a redshirt freshman in 2019-20. He earned honorable mention NWCA All-America honors after qualifying for the NCAA meet as a No. 13 seed. He was 9-3 in dual meets at 141 and placed fifth at the Big 12 Championship.

Blockhus was a three-time Iowa state champion and four-time finalist for New Hampton High School, with a 166-8 career record.

U second baseman Raabe honored

Gophers second baseman Zack Raabe, a junior, was named a preseason All-America second team selected by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.

In the shortened 2020 season, he led the nation in hits with 31 and batted .463 with one home run, seven doubles, 16 runs and 10 RBI. Raabe's .612 slugging percentage was up .296 points from his freshman season. He was ranked as the No. 5 player in the NCAA in D1Baseball's 2020 end-of-season positional rankings.

UMAC basketball to start Jan. 30

The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) Council of Presidents and Chancellors supported a recommendation from the UMAC Council of athletic directors to continue pursuing conference competition in baseball, men's and women's basketball, softball, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field and beginning conference competition no earlier than Jan. 30, 2021.

In basketball, the UMAC is planning an eight-game regular-season conference schedule with competition starting Jan. 30.

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