NCAA Basketball: 10 best players from state of Utah of last decade

2. Sam Merrill – Utah State

We’ve seen impressive players at Utah and BYU but Merrill is the super talented athlete who made his headlines at Utah State. A 6’5 guard from Bountiful, he landed with the Aggies back in 2016 and developed into one of the best players in the MWC across the next four seasons.

Merrill had a decent freshman campaign before becoming one of the league’s best shooting guards. After averaging 16.3 points a game as a sophomore, he had greater success under new coach Craig Smith for his upperclassman seasons. Merrill was a scoring fiend for the Aggies, averaging 20.9 points a game as a junior. He spearheaded Utah State as they won the MWC Tournament in both of his final seasons, hitting the game-winning shot to end his career, as the pandemic cancelled the NCAA Tournament.

Merrill was named MWC Player of the Year for a fantastic junior season but was also both First Team All-MWC and MWC Tournament MVP in both of his upperclassman years. He led the MWC in most offensive metrics, as well as points and field goal percentage, during those fantastic seasons to end his collegiate career. Merrill was an outstanding talent who really helped resurrect Utah State’s program. He was the final pick of the 2020 NBA Draft and won a championship with the Milwaukee Bucks, though he’s now with his third different franchise already.