Kevin Grundhoffer, contributor

Before coming to Augsburg, Trent Gomez became the all-time leading scorer at Two Harbors high school with over 2000 career points. He was a four-year starter for the Agates, and as you can imagine by his astounding point total, the star of the team. 

Gomez decided to attend Augsburg because of the connection he formed with the coaching staff. In his first year, he has made an immediate impact in a position of need for the Auggies. The first year averages 9.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. This also comes with an impressive 51% shooting from the field and 41% from three point range. With his stellar play, he has become a mainstay and one of the men that is relied upon on the basketball team. To make his stats even more impressive, Gomez is averaging more points, assists and steals per game than former MIAC player of the year, Joe Palmer, during his first year at Augsburg. Palmer is currently a heavy contributor for the Colorado State basketball team who is looking to find a spot in this year’s March Madness national tournament. 

On Jan. 27, the Auggies won 85-76 in overtime over St. Olaf. Behind by three points in the final few seconds, it was young Gomez that was setup to shoot the game winning shot. Bang! He hit the game-tying three pointer with four seconds left to send it to overtime. In an interview with the Echo, Gomez said that it was a set play that their coach, Aaron Griess, drew up in a timeout before they inbounded the ball. Coach Griess said “He’s going to be open,” and he indeed was. “It felt good,” remarked Gomez with a smile in an interview with the Echo. With the game saving shot, the Baby Faced Assassin was second on the team in points. In the game, he put up 15 points as well as five steals which is a career best. It’s not often that a first year would be trusted with shooting such a pivotal shot, but Gomez is not a typical first year. He also scored a season high 20 points on seven field goals in their home meeting against St. Olaf on Dec. 9. Gomez has brought leadership as a first year on a team filled with them. 

“Get better and keep progressing as a team and player,” commented Gomez on his goals as an Auggie basketball player. The Auggies have recently gone through a rebuilding phase but the rebuild seems to be coming to an end. “Just our core group of guys needs to stay together and we will get to where we want to be,” mentioned Gomez on the potential end to the rebuild. 

It is very impressive considering the Auggies have six more regular season games to go. Gomez stays humble through the praise and realizes that this is just the beginning of the journey. The journey to go from rebuild to contender and contender to champion. The sky’s the limit for this rookie. Catch the Auggies playing next at Macalester on Feb. 17 at 3 p.m.