2025-26 Men's Basketball Roster

35 Izaiyah Nelson

  • Position Forward
  • Height 6-10
  • Weight 218
  • Class Senior
  • Hometown Marietta, Ga.
  • Prev School Arkansas State
  • High School Marietta HS
  • Instagram 1zaiyah

Biography

Career Accolades
2025-26 American Conference Player of the Year
2025-26 American Conference Defensive Player of the Year
2025-26 American Conference Newcomer of the Year
2025-26 NABC First Team All-Southeast District
2025-26 USF Male Athlete of the Year
2024-25 All-Sun Belt Third Team
Oscar Robertson Trophy National Player of the Week (March 4, 2025)
Sun Belt Player of the Week (March 3, 2025)
2024-25 Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team
2024 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) All-Tournament Team

2025-26: American Conference Player of the Year...American Conference Defensive Player of the Year...American Conference Newcomer of the Year...NABC First Team All-Southeast District...started all 34 games...led USF to American Conference regular season and tournament titles and the program's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012...team tied the program record with 25 wins...second on the team scoring 15.9 points per game while shooting 56.1 percent from the floor...led The American and ranked 16th in Division I with 9.6 rebounds per game...added 48 blocks and 56 steals...logged 18 double-doubles (9th in the nation), tied for the second-most in program history...logged 29 double-digit scoring games, nine scoring 20 points or more...posted a season-best 25 points four times...scored 22 points and added nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals in the Bulls NCAA Tournament first round loss to Louisville (3/19)...had 14 points, 13 rebounds and a season-best six assists vs. Tulane (3/1)....scored 24 points and had eight rebounds at Rice (2/25)...had 15 points and seven steals at Wichita State (2/11)...posted 25 points and 10 rebounds vs. Tulsa (2/8)....had 25 points and five rebounds vs. UTSA (2/4)....shot 20-of-29 in back-to-back 25-point games...had 15 points and 12 rebounds vs. FAU (1/25)...had 22 points and a season-best 14 rebounds at Tulsa (1/10)...posted 23 points,11 rebounds and a season-best five blocks vs. UAB (1/4)....logged 25 points and 12 rebounds vs. Georgia College (12/29)...had 20 points and 11 rebounds vs. UMBC (12/21)...had 25 points and 12 rebounds at Alabama (12/17)....posted four straight 20 point games with double-doubles...earned his degree in communications, graduating in May.
 
2024-25 (Junior, Arkansas State): Named to the All-Sun Belt Third Team … averaged 21.5 points and averaged a nation-leading 20.0 rebounds for the week of March 2, which led to an Oscar Robertson Trophy National Player of the Week … led the team with 8.9 rebounds per game, which was tied for 35th in the NCAA … his 3.19 offensive rebounds per game were tied for 29th in the nation  … averaged 10.6 points per game for the season … he finished the season tied for 39th in double-doubles with 10 double-doubles, including six straight games from February 15 through March 8  … led the team with a field-goal percentage of 58.6 … recorded a career-high 30 points with a career-high 12 made free throws against Louisiana on February 26… produced 14 games with double-digit scoring … had three games of 20 or more points … brought down a career-high best 23 rebounds against South Alabama on February 19… tallied a career-high four steals and made a career-high 12 field goals against Saint Louis on March 18 … produced 11 games with double-digit rebounds, including two games of 20 or more … shot a perfect 10-for-10 from the field in a 23-point effort against Texas State … he led the team with 41 blocks.
 
2023-24 (Sophomore, Arkansas State): Named to the CBI All-Tournament Team … one of the nation’s top rim protectors, blocking 73 shots, ranked 17th nationally and third in the Sun Belt … his 73 blocks were third most in school history in a season, as well as the most by an A-State player since 2001-02 … played in 37 games, including 31 starts, averaging 22.5 minutes per outing … accounted for a team-high eight double-doubles … led the team with 7.6 rebounds per game after averaging 5.0 as a freshman … capped the season with the best game of his career, scoring 25 points with 15 rebounds in the CBI semifinals against High Point on March 26, going 11-for-17 from the field and 2-for-3 from 3-point range … tallied 17 points and 12 boards in the CBI quarters against Montana on March 25 … went 5-for-6 from the field on his way  to 12 points and eight rebounds with 5 blocks in the first round of the CBI versus Bethune-Cookman on March 23 … recorded 12 points and 12 rebounds in the SBC championship game against James Madison on March 11.
 
2022-23 (Freshman, Arkansas State): Played in 33 games, including 18 starts … averaged 17.5 minutes as a freshman … led the team shooting 52.5 percent from the field … averaged 5.0 rebounds per game and 4.6 points per game … led the team with 44 blocked shots … tallied five games with 10 or more points, including a season-high 16 against Lyon on November 14 … produced the first double-double of his career with 11 points and 11 rebounds against South Alabama on February 2 … posted 18 games with five or more rebounds, including two games in double figures … blocked more than one shot in 15 games, with a season-best four against Georgia Southern on February 11.

High School: Played for Marietta High School in Georgia … well known for being a defensive presence at the rim … a GHSA 7A-South All-State selection as a senior … averaged 8.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game.

Statistics

Season Statistics

Season Statistics

No statistics available for this season.

Career Statistics

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