Utah State’s Sam Merrill Recognized As Preseason All-American
Oct 25, 2019, 5:26 PM | Updated: 5:27 pm
Sam Merrill #5 of the Utah State Aggies brings the ball up court against the Fresno State Bulldogs during a semifinal game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 15, 2019 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State guard Sam Merrill was named a preseason All-American by the Sporting News. The senior was honored as a member of the second-team for the 2019-20 college basketball season by the publication.
Sporting News announced Merrill’s selection on Thursday, October 24.
“With much of last season’s roster returning, Merrill has the necessary support to rank with the nation’s best,” wrote Sporting News.
🇺🇸 @smerrill05 🇺🇸
Congrats to Sam being named @sportingnews Preseason Second Team All-American.
➡️ https://t.co/MyBMOaG9q3#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/QrJOsnft8P
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) October 24, 2019
Merrill’s recognition isn’t his first of the preseason. He’s also been honored as Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year, preseason all-Mountain West, preseason All-American third team by NBC Sports and top-10 preseason candidates for theNational Player of the Year by Sports Illustrated.
The USU guard was the 2019 Mountain West Conference Player of the Year and won the MVP of the MWC Tournament. The Aggies led by Merrill won both Mountain West regular season and conference tournament titles.
He averaged 20.9 points per game a season ago. He also recorded 3.9 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game as a junior.
The senior guard and the rest of the Aggies squad host the College of Idaho for an exhibition game on Wednesday, October 30 at 7 p.m. (MDT).
