Utah State’s MJ Collins Jr. Earns National Honor After 40-Point Outburst
Nov 25, 2025, 4:33 PM | Updated: Nov 27, 2025, 9:37 am
LOGAN, Utah – The transfer portal was kind to Jerrod Calhoun’s Utah State Aggies in 2025, as senior guard MJ Collins Jr. is the latest to break out for undefeated USU.
The former Vanderbilt playmaker exploded for 40 points in a win over Davidson, becoming the first Aggie to reach that plateau since Jaycee Carroll in February 2007.
Oscar Robertson 𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐀𝐋 Player of the Week‼️
The honors keep pouring in for MJ Collins Jr.
🔗 >> https://t.co/TkBZ2ZwXLH#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/EMGIm1Or9M
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 25, 2025
Collins Jr. was named the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic Lowcountry Bracket MVP and took home Mountain West Player of the Week honors after leading his team to a tournament championship in dominating form.
He joins fellow senior transfer Garry Clark in earning consecutive MW POTW awards for the program.
Collins Jr. averaged 30.5 points in two wins, and his eight threes against Davidson tied for the third-most in a single game in program history. He finished the two-game tournament shooting 72.4 percent from the field (21-of-29) and 61.1 percent (11-for-18) from three.
All 4️⃣0️⃣ of @Collins2Mj points from last night’s historic performance #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/0LsT6BBOKL
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 24, 2025
Calhoun and the Aggies figured they would be getting an athletic ball-handler with good finishing ability at the rim. What they’ve gotten has far surpassed what many had hoped for in the best-case scenario with Collins and his new team.
The Clover, South Carolina, native has more than doubled his career scoring average, leading Utah State with 21 points per game on 63 percent shooting and 52.6 percent from deep.
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About MJ Collins Jr., before Utah State
MJ Collins Jr. is a 6’4 shooting guard who started his college career at Virginia Tech before transferring to Vanderbilt, and has improved his stock over the last three years.
Vanderbilt transfer MJ Collins has been a key piece for an undefeated Utah State team through five games. He’s averaging:
17.2 PPG
2.8 RPG
2.2 APG
59.6 FG%
46.2 3PT%Collins has taken a major leap offensively this season, more than doubling his scoring output from last year at… pic.twitter.com/ejJMI6xK5Y
— Sam Kayser (@KayserHoops) November 21, 2025
Collins brings invaluable experience to Utah State, having played in more than 30 games in each of his three years in the ACC and SEC. This year, MJ was part of a Commodores team that had impressive wins over No. 6 Tennessee, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 14 Missouri, No. 12 Texas A&M, and No. 24 Ole Miss.
Their performance in the best conference in college basketball last season earned them a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where they fell in the first round to Saint Mary’s.
MJ averaged 7.4 points per game on 42% from the field in 2024-25. He is a threat from beyond the arc, mainly in catch-and-shoot situations, but the majority of his scoring comes around the rim, where he shoots 55%.
Collins also loves getting out in transition, where his athleticism allows him to outpace defenders to the hoop and catch lobs.
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Utah State returns home to host the Montana State Bobcats at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday, November 29. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. MT.
Find Utah State’s entire 2025-26 men’s basketball schedule here.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
