Gopher Tori McKinney Stays in the ‘Precious Present’

A Minnesota Carlson sophomore looks to play a leading role as the nationally ranked Gopher women’s basketball team prepares for the postseason.

Guard Tori McKinney leads the team this season in points per game and steals per game. She was recently named to the All-Big Ten Second Team (coaches), All-Big Ten Defensive Team (coaches) and All-Big Ten Third Team (media). This builds off her historic performance last season, in which she helped lead the Gophers to a Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament (WBIT) championship and won tournament MVP. However, this year, the Gophers are eying a spot in the NCAA women’s basketball tournament — the primary postseason tournament — for the first time since 2018.

With the playoffs come pressure-packed moments. Amid this, McKinney shares how she balances her focus on the court and in the classroom at Carlson.

“Our coach always says, ‘Be in the precious present,’ and I feel like that just helps me and my teammates stay in the game and stay ready for anything that could happen,” says McKinney.

That mindset helps McKinney lock into a dominant presence on the court. 

“I love everything about basketball, being able to be a competitor on the court,” she says. “People kind of joke that you always have an alter ego, but when I'm on the court, I am a whole new person. This is who I actually am. I am able to compete and just be who I am, be that fierce kind of person.”

McKinney’s competitive nature grew out of sibling rivalry with her older brother — her first true opponent on the court.

“We would get in fights, a lot of fights, especially on the court, [about] who actually won, or whose ball is it, and stuff like that,” McKinney remembers. “But it was just always something that I could do with him, so the reason I love basketball so much is I think it just brought my brother and me closer together.”

Numbers are another passion the two share. Like her brother, McKinney is pursuing a degree in Accounting. She credits a strong circle of support in helping her achieve both her basketball and academic goals.

“The best way I found balance as a student-athlete is by surrounding myself with the right people, and I think Carlson is super amazing in that sense,” says McKinney. “The support you're going to get here is: people want you to succeed. People are giving you the opportunity to reach out at such a young age and start developing these relationships and just building blocks of your career.”

McKinney found that the networking skills she honed in the classroom translated when the Gophers hosted Minnesota Lynx star Kayla McBride.

“Just seeing [McBride’s] perspective and then being able to have an additional conversation with her one-on-one or one-on-two was just so incredible,” says McKinney. “Those skills that you're learning at Carlson on how to have a conversation … it's a lot easier to apply it to different alumni and different speakers that come in, and just continuing to grow those relationships.”

Ultimately, she says, it comes down to having a strong team to turn to along the way.

“You definitely can't do anything on your own, and I think that's the biggest thing when it comes to having a team,” says McKinney. “In basketball, obviously, you don't want to play 1-on-5 because your odds are not very high. It's just like surrounding yourself with the right people. That's just one of the biggest reasons I chose Minnesota, because it was just the right people and the perfect fit. In school, you also need a team. You need people who might give you the notes when you miss class … It really is the little things. And when it comes to having just a really good support system, and at the end of the day, that's what keeps me going.”

Selection Sunday for the women’s NCAA tournament is on March 15.