Gophers Jordan Lyden, Drew Berkland and Isabella McCauley don’t have fans cheering their names every moment of every day.
Their list of favorites, routines, and go-tos they enjoy regularly as they prepare for games, competitions and tournaments, while often regular, are the foundations for their irregular abilities.
Jordyn Lyden
Sophomore gymnast Jordyn Lyden is a three-time Big Ten freshman of the week, WCGA Scholastic All-American and holds career highs of 9.975 on bars, 9.900 on beam and 9.850 on floor.
Lyden starts her day by waking up at 6:45 a.m. Before she sits down for breakfast, she reads a devotional and a few passages from the Bible.
“I then normally read a devotional to start and then some of the Bible, I have this Bible app that I read every day,” Lyden said.
When Lyden is done with her morning routine, she heads to practice from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Just like every other Minnesota student, Lyden has classes to attend. Depending on the day, she said she will have either one or two classes.
Lyden gets home around 4 p.m. on some nights, does her homework, eats dinner and starts all over again tomorrow. However, competition days look much different for Lyden.
Competition day starts the night before for Lyden.
“Normally the night before I have pasta from Olive Garden, or just any pasta,” Lyden said.
Since their meets are usually later in the evening, Lyden gets to relax for some time before competing.
When it comes to rituals, Lyden keeps it pretty simple.
“I like to write on my hands little quotes and normally do a devotional and stay off my phone to get focused,” Lyden said.
Favorites and Go-tos:
Snack: ZBar Oatmeal
Meal: Steak, chicken rice, yum yum sauce
Drink: Core Power, chocolate Fairlife, blue Powerade Zero
Starbucks order: Venti strawberry acai light ice
Desert: Cookies and ice cream
Hype song: “All of The Lights,” “Firm Foundation,” “Hall of Fame,” country
Lyden understands the pressures of being a student-athlete at a Division I university and how to handle them.
“I would say making a schedule for yourself, setting aside time for school and making it a priority,” Lyden said. “I really care about my grades so I make sure. Obviously practice is a lot but it’s only four hours in a day so after it’s done it’s time for school.”
Drew Berkland
Junior baseball player Drew Berkland is a recipient of Academic All-Big Ten and Big Ten Distinguished Scholar awards. Drew has a career-high of .325/.434/.550 with 15 RBI, 19 runs and four home runs that he set in 2024.
Berkland was named most improved at the team banquet in 2024.
Berkland starts an away game day waking up around 8:00 a.m. to get to breakfast.
Afterwards, there is typically some downtime for him and the rest of the team where they explore the area before lunch.
“When we first get there, we like to walk around campus, see what they have and check out their football field and some of the student buildings,” Berkland said.
After exploring, they head back to the hotel to watch game film and prepare for a team meeting before lunch.
Berkland talked about the privileges they get as players during away games.
“We have some meal catered to us, we get treated pretty nicely on the road,” Berkland said.
Around 2 p.m. Berkland heads to the bus and field and has batting practice before a 6 p.m. game.
When it comes down to moments before a game, Berkland stresses the importance of getting focused. To prepare, he likes to dial in by keeping to himself for a few hours and having a smoothie for a light snack.
Favorites and Go-tos:
Snack: Trail mix
Meal: Steak and some sort of vegetable
Drink: Powerade and Sprite combo
Fast food: Chick-Fil-A
Dessert: Brownies and Ice cream
Song/Music: EDM
Drew believes in prioritizing school above sports for a successful outcome as a student athlete.
“I need to make sure I get to class in the morning, do all the things that set me up for success in the week,” Berkland said. “School comes first, before any lift or sports that we have to do, so you need to make sure priorities are straight. I mean, we’re obviously here to be students too.”
Isabella McCauley
Junior golfer Isabella McCauley currently holds Minnesota’s career scoring record with 72.44.
She is a Big Ten Tri-Champion, NCAA Regionals Individual Qualifier, WGCA All-America Honorable Mention, Second Team All-Big Ten and was awarded Academic All-Big Ten.
McCauley starts her morning off with her usual classes, whether it is online or in-person.
She then heads to practice for about three hours, designating one to chipping, one to hitting and one to putting. Being the elite athlete she is, she usually stays longer than the mandatory amount.
McCauley and her teammates head to another workout after practice, followed by dinner at Bierman Athletic Building and a late-night study session.
“That is kind of a typical day I would say, but I get a lot of flexibility with online classes,” McCauley said.
When it comes to a travel tournament, things look a little differently, starting the day hours earlier at about 5:30 a.m.
McCauley says she is not a superstitious person, but the one thing she cannot have on a tournament day is caffeine. She likes to eat oatmeal or a breakfast sandwich for breakfast instead.
By mid-afternoon, she heads to the course where she has about 15 minutes to stretch and an hour for hitting and putting. McCauley says she prefers tournament days since she gets to warm up with her team.
“We all get to warm up together, which is really nice to have that team camaraderie in that sense since golf is just so individual,” McCauley said.
Throughout a tournament, it can become hectic being out on the course from 9-12 hours, so McCauley does her best to stay fueled in between rounds.
After a hard day’s work, she and the rest of the team grab dinner and head to bed before another tournament the next day.
Favorites and Go-tos:
Snack: Protein bar, cashews
Meal: Salmon and rice, acai bowl
Drink: Starbucks acai refresher light ice
Dessert: Sour Patch Kids
Hype song: Worship music, country
McCauley was homeschooled in high school and believes it is a big reason for her time-management skills.
“My time management with being homeschooled helped, be very intentional with what you want to do, be intentional about the time you are spending, things you will have to say no to,” McCauley said.
