LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men's basketball senior guard MJ Collins Jr. has been named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, Nov. 23. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.
Collins Jr., a native of Clover, South Carolina, made history in his return to his home state while helping the Aggies to a 96-75 win over Tulane and a 94-60 win over Davidson. He scored a Charleston Classic-record 40 points in the title game win over Davidson, breaking a 14-year-old scoring record for the event. He also became the first Aggie player since Jaycee Carroll in 2007 to score 40-plus in a game.
Collins Jr. scored 21 points along with a rebound and five assists in the semifinal game against Tulane, then followed that with a performance of 40 points, one rebound, two assists and two steals against Davidson. In that game, he shot 14-of-19 from the field, 8-of-12 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 at the free throw line. His eight 3-pointers rank tied for third-most in program history.
Collins Jr. is the second-straight Utah State player to earn Old Trapper Mountain West Player of the Week accolades, after senior forward Garry Clark did so the previous week.
UP NEXT
Utah State will return home for a single game next week, as the Aggies host Montana State at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 2 p.m. The game will be streamed on Mountain West Network, and broadcast locally on KMYU.
TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2025-26 men's basketball season have sold out. Fans can purchase single game tickets for available remaining games here. A waitlist for 2026-27 season tickets is now available here.
FOLLOW
For more information on Utah State's men's basketball program, follow the Aggies on Facebook at usumensbasketball, on Twitter at @usubasketball and on Instagram at @usubasketball. Fans can also watch USU men's basketball highlights by visiting youtube.com/utahstateathletics.
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Nominees from other sports for USU Student-Athlete of the Week included:
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL – Senior Sophie Sene (Nice, France) helped Utah State to a 1-1 record last week with a 96-41 home win against Stanislaus State and a 70-34 loss at Oregon. Against Stanislaus State, Sene finished with eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with two assists. Sene then led USU in rebounding again versus Oregon, totaling eight boards while adding two points, three steals and an assist.
FOOTBALL – Graduate quarterback Bryson Barnes (Milford, Utah) accounted for 265 yards of total offense and one touchdown in Utah State's come-from-behind 28-17 Mountain West win at Fresno State. Barnes posted his fifth 100-yard rushing game of the season, extending his own school record by a quarterback, as he carried the ball a season-high 23 times for 113 yards. Barnes recorded his first-career touchdown catch on a 2-yard reception and was 16-of-30 passing for 150 yards and one interception.
VOLLEYBALL – Senior Tierney Barlow (Colorado Springs, Colorado) led Utah State with 27 total kills in a pair of home wins against Air Force (3-1) and Nevada (3-0), helping the Aggies close out an undefeated 18-0 record in Mountain West play. Barlow hit .619 on 42 attempts with only one error on the week, while also adding two aces, one each against the Falcons and Wolf Pack. Barlow paced the Aggies with a career-high-tying 18 kills on 26 attempts with no errors against Air Force. Her .692 hitting percentage is the second highest in program history for 20+ attempts, trailing only Loryn Helgesen's .704 mark against Grand Canyon earlier this season. Barlow then added nine kills on 16 attempts with one error against Nevada, hitting .500 for the match.
2025-26 America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week Winners
Sept. 1 – Miles Davis, Football
Sept. 8 – John Miller, Football
Sept. 15 – Bryson Barnes, Football
Sept. 22 – Bryson Barnes, Football
Sept. 29 – Loryn Helgesen, Volleyball
Oct. 6 – Kaylie Kofe, Volleyball
Oct. 13 – Tess Werts, Soccer
Oct. 20 – Loryn Helgesen, Volleyball
Oct. 27 – Loryn Helgesen, Volleyball
Nov. 3 – Mara Štiglic, Volleyball
Nov. 10 – Rine Yonaha, Soccer
Nov. 17 – Garry Clark, Men's Basketball
Nov. 24 – MJ Collins Jr., Men's Basketball
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