OREM—Utah Valley men's basketball head coach Todd Phillips has announced the return of former WAC Player of the Year Dominick Nelson, who will rejoin the Wolverines for the 2026-27 season after spending last season at Iowa State.
"We are excited to welcome Dominick Nelson back to the Valley," Phillips said. "To get a player of Dom's caliber back at UVU shows the culture and family that has been built here. Dom is a silky-smooth guard who attacks the rim relentlessly. He's an elite scorer and playmaker. Dom is a tremendous competitor and brings a first-class work ethic to our program. We are pumped to have Dom back at Utah Valley."
Nelson returns to Orem after putting together one of the top individual seasons in recent Utah Valley history in 2024-25, when he helped lead the Wolverines to the outright WAC regular season championship and a berth in the National Invitation Tournament. He returns to UVU with additional postseason experience after helping Iowa State advance to the Sweet 16 of the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
The 6-foot guard started all 34 games for Utah Valley during the 2024-25 campaign, averaging 14.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game on his way to being named the WAC Player of the Year and earning First Team All-WAC honors.
Nelson scored in double figures in 27 of his 34 games, including nine games with 20 or more points. He recorded a season-high 25 points three times, with each performance coming in a road victory. He scored 25 points at UT Arlington and California Baptist before matching the mark in UVU's regular-season finale at Tarleton State.
Nelson capped the regular season with 25 points at Tarleton State, going 13-of-16 from the free-throw line to help Utah Valley secure the outright WAC regular season championship. He also recorded 15 points and a season-high nine rebounds in a 77-75 road victory at Murray State.
Nelson was one of the nation's most productive players at getting to the free-throw line during the 2024-25 season, ranking 13th nationally with 237 free-throw attempts and 27th with 163 made free throws.
In addition to earning WAC Player of the Year honors, Nelson was named a finalist for the Riley Wallace Award, presented to the most impactful transfer in Division I, and the Lou Henson Award, which honors the nation's top mid-major player. He was also named WAC Player of the Week three times, earning the honor on Jan. 27, March 3 and March 9.
Nelson spent the 2025-26 season at Iowa State, appearing in 24 games for the Cyclones and helping the team advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 3.7 points and 0.9 rebounds in 8.4 minutes per game and scored in double figures three times, including a season-high 12 points against Syracuse.
Nelson appeared in all three of Iowa State's NCAA Tournament games, scoring nine points in 19 minutes in a first-round win over Tennessee State before seeing action against Kentucky in the second round and Tennessee in the Sweet 16.
Prior to his first stint at Utah Valley, Nelson played two seasons at Polk State College in Winter Haven, Florida. He earned First Team All-Citrus Conference honors in 2023-24 after averaging 20.1 points per game, which ranked fourth in the FCSAA and was the highest scoring average by a Polk State player in seven years. He scored in double figures in 27 of 28 games and recorded a career-high 33 points against Indian River State College.
As a freshman at Polk State in 2022-23, Nelson appeared in 28 games with 13 starts and averaged 11.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He scored in double figures 18 times, recorded a pair of double-doubles and earned First Team All-Suncoast Conference honors.
Nelson prepped at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he helped lead the program to a 30-plus win season and a Big Shots national championship in 2022.
Nelson returns to a Utah Valley program entering its first season as a member of The Big West in 2026-27.
