Jonesboro, AR — (Contributed) — March 4, 2025 — After a dominant weekend to cap the regular season, Arkansas State forward Izaiyah Nelson was named the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday.
Nelson averaged 21.5 points and 20.0 rebounds in the Red Wolves’ road victories at Louisiana and at ULM, helping A-State secure its first Sun Belt regular-season crown since 1998 and a top-four seed in the upcoming conference tournament for the second year in a row.
The announcement also marks Nelson’s first weekly honor of his career, and the second by an A-State player this season after Taryn Todd received recognition on Dec. 17, 2024.
In the Feb. 26 win at Louisiana, which halted a seven-game skid in the Cajundome, Nelson scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 21 rebounds (10 offensive, 11 defensive). He was the first A-State player with a 30-20 performance since 1994, and one of 10 Division I players in the last 10 seasons with at least 30 points, 10-plus offensive rebounds and 10 or more defensive rebounds in a game, but the only one to do so in under 30 minutes. His performance was also just the second by a player this season, but the only one against a Division-I opponent.
The Atlanta, GA, native followed his monster performance on Friday with 13 points and 19 rebounds in the Red Wolves’ 94-67 victory at ULM, securing 13 defensive boards and swatting away a season-high four blocked shots.
Nelson has tallied five straight double-doubles entering the Sun Belt Conference Championship. Over that span, he is averaging 18.2 points and 17.4 rebounds, along with 2.6 blocks.
NEXT UP
A-State is seeded fourth in the Sun Belt Conference Championship, and will play in the quarterfinal round set for 5:30 p.m. on March 8, inside the Bay Center in Pensacola, FL.