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DENVER — UVU junior forward Isaac Neilson has had his most successful season as an NCAA Division I basketball player, and the coaches in the Western Athletic Conference took notice Tuesday.
Neilson was named to the WAC All-Defensive team after leading the Wolverines and the WAC in blocks with 1.72 per game. Neilson has recorded 50 blocks on the season, which puts him just six shy of the UVU single-season record.
"It's a well-deserved honor for Isaac," said Utah Valley head coach Mark Pope. "He has had a great season, the best of his career. He's been a tremendous presence for us both."
Neilson is also second in the WAC in rebounds at 9.0 per game and second in field goal percentage at 57.4 percent.
The former BYU Cougar is also ranked in the top 50 nationally in offensive rebounds per game, blocks, blocks per game and rebounds per game.
In the regular-season finale, Neilson tallied five blocks to go along with five rebounds. His season high for blocks is six, which he recorded against Chicago State on Jan. 12.
Neilson recorded a season-high 15 rebounds on Dec. 3 at Utah with the second-highest being 14 boards against Utah State on Dec. 10.
On the season, Neilson has nine double-doubles, including a 28-point, 15-rebound performance at Utah.
Before transferring to UVU from BYU after the 2014-15 season, Neilson played in 34 games for the Cougars, averaging 3.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
UVU enters the WAC tournament as the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 seed Seattle University on Thursday at 3 p.m. MST in the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas.
The Wolverines beat the Redhawks 61-54 in the regular-season finale Saturday night in the UCCU Center. Seattle prevailed in the first meeting of the season, 63-50 on Feb. 4.
The quarterfinal matchup can be seen on the WAC Digital Network or heard on the radio on ESPN 960 AM.
Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. He is a communication major at UVU and will graduate in the spring of 2017. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias
