LOGAN, Utah - Utah State senior guard Sam Merrill was recently featured as one of the top-10 preseason candidates for 2019-20 national player of the year recognition by si.com. 

The unofficial list recognized Merrill as "one of the most effective offensive players anywhere last season, shooting 52.9% on twos, 36.9% from three and 90.6% from the foul line, and leading his team in assist rate while for the most part admirably mitigating turnovers."

Merrill, the 2019 Mountain West Player of the Year and MW Tournament MVP, led the Aggies to both the regular season and conference tournament title a season ago after pacing USU with a team-best 20.9 points per game. Merrill finished the year with 731 points, the fifth-most in a single season in Utah State history, while his average of 20.9 points per game ranked second in the MW. Merrill was also the top distributor for the Aggies, totaling a team-best 147 assists and averaging 4.2 per contest to rank fifth in the MW.

Merrill was also named third-team All-American by Stadium, AP honorable mention All-American, first-team all-Mountain West, first-team all-District 17 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and all-District VIII by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Merrill will enter the 2019-20 season with 1,568 career points and could become just the fourth Aggie in the history of the program to eclipse 2,000 career points.

Utah State will face its first competition of the season on Wednesday, Oct. 30, hosting the College of Idaho in an exhibition contest at 7 p.m., inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. 

Utah State men's basketball news and information is available on Facebook (facebook.com/usumensbasketball), on Twitter (@usubasketball) and on Instagram (@usubasketball). Fans can also get USU men's basketball highlights on YouTube (youtube.com/utahstateathletics). Aggie fans can follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter (@usuathletics), on Facebook (facebook.com/usuathletics) or on Instagram (@usuathletics).

-USU-