With the new Mountain West, can Steve Alford and Nevada basketball take advantage and return to the NCAA Tournament?
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Nevada basketball.
It’s another year for Steve Alford, who has now coached over 1,000 games in his coaching career. He took this Nevada team to a 24-13 record and a 5th place finish in the Mountain West. That was enough to earn them an NIT spot, where they would go on to make the quarterfinals. Nevada basketball lost their top scorer from last year, Corey Camper Jr., who averaged over 16 PPG last season, and third-leading scorer Tayshawn Comer.
They bring back Elijah Price, though, the second-leading scorer, and Vaughn Weems, who averaged over 10 a game. You have to imagine they’re excited to take the keys to this team and have big seasons. They won’t have to do it alone, though, because they add some key transfers. Styles Phipps is coming off a season where he averaged 13-5-5 and is seen by many as a breakout candidate in college basketball. They also bring in two giants from Houston and Memphis, who both have a ton of raw potential.
The Mountain West is going to look a little different this year, with Grand Canyon, Hawaii, UC Davis, and UTEP joining, and Colorado State, San Diego State, Boise State, Fresno State, and Utah State leaving. Perhaps this is an opportunity for Nevada basketball to capitalize and earn another postseason appearance and potentially their first tournament win since Alford joined the program in 2019-2020.
Head coach: Steve Alford (11th season at Nevada, 37th season overall)
2024-25 record: 24-13 (10-8)
2025 postseason finish: NIT Quarterfinals Exit
Notable departures:
- Corey Camper Jr. (16.6 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.7 APG)
- Tayshawn Comer (11.0 PPG, 1.8 RPG, 3.6 APG)
Notable non-conference games:
- N/A
Projected Rotation
PG: Styles Phipps (6-2, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 13.4 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 5.2 APG, 1.5 SPG, 42.1 FG%, 78.5 FT% (Pepperdine)
SG: Vaughn Weems (6-5, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 10.1 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 0.9 APG, 1.0 SPG, 54.7 FG%, 38.2 3P%, 76.8 FT%
SF: Keyon Kensie Jr. (6-8, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 10.9 PPG, 6.9 RPG, 1.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.7 BPG, 42.4 FG%, 72.4 FT% (Portland State)
PF: Elijah Price (6-9, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 12.8 PPG, 8.5 RPG, 1.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 1.7 BPG, 44.3 FG%, 35.5 3P%, 73.3 FT%
C: Simon Majok (7-1, So.)
2025-26 stats: 2.9 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 0.2 APG, 0.4 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 46.7 FG%, 71.8 FT% (Memphis)
6: Peter Bandelj (6-4, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 13.0 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.3 APG, 1.3 SPG, 41.3 FG%, 34.7 3P%, 85.2 FT% (Cal Poly)
7: Peyton White (6-6, So.)
2025-26 stats: 4.6 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 0.4 APG, 41.7 FG%, 32.7 3P%, 79.2 FT%
8: Cedric Laith (6-10, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 0.5 PPG, 0.7 RPG, 0.0 APG, 66.7 FG%, 4 minutes per game (Houston)
9: TJ Coulter (6-4, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 21.2 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.3 SPG, 1.2 BPG, 43.1 FG%, 36.2 3P%, 85.5 FT% (JUCO)
10: Myles Walker (5-10, So.)
2025-26 stats: 1.3 PPG, 0.6 RPG, 1.4 APG, 0.4 SPG, 39.0 FG%, 33.3 3P%
Nevada Basketball team MVP: Elijah Price
After his freshman year at Fresno State, Price came to Nevada looking to take that next step, and that he did. He averaged 12.5 PPG, and for the second straight season, averaged over 8 rebounds a game. Where he really shines is his defense, though. Price averaged 1.2 steals a game and 1.7 blocks a game for Nevada last year, so the counting stats pass the test. When you look at defensive impact, though, EvanMiya is a great tool to use, and per the tool, he was the 49th best defender in the entire country last year. That’s right, a top 50 defender out of thousands of college basketball players is on this team.
Remember, he was just a sophomore last year, and he still has tons of room to grow. With an elite ball handler like Phipps, that can open more opportunities for him offensively, and adding a guy like Majok, whose sheer size can deter opponents, we could see Price be a top 10 defender in the country and the backbone of the best team in the Mountain West.
Nevada Basketball make-or-break player: Simon Majok
Majok had a quiet rookie year at Memphis, averaging under 3 points and rebounds a game on about 12 minutes a game. The freshman looked very raw and not ready for the college game like many projects do. You have to look before Memphis, though, where he played in the top league in Serbia and averaged 17.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.6 BPG, and 1.3 SPG in 30 minutes.
With all due respect to the Serbian league, college basketball is a different sport, but we’ve seen what he can do when he’s comfortable. At 7’1, he’s such a force inside defensively, and if he can develop a post game offensively, then he can just use that advantage to score over defenders. There’s the other side, though, where he can’t adjust to the college game and is unplayable offensively. They brought in Laith as additional size, but he’s the only 7-footer on the team, so they’re hoping he can take that step up and be a driving force on both ends of the floor.
Stat to know: Home Rank
Here’s a fun stat. EvanMiya, who we referenced earlier, has a stat called Home Rank, which is defined as “A Team’s Rank in how much better they perform at home vs. road games”. Nevada finished 14th in that ranking, going 16-2 at the Lawlor Events Center last season. Compare that to an 8-11 record away from home. This included road losses to San Jose State, who won 3 conference games, and Wyoming, which finished 9th in the conference.
Sure, winning at home is super important, but if they can’t get it done on the road, then this team can’t consider themselves a tournament team, especially when a team in the mid-majors needs that extra boost to get that nod on their resume. This is sure to be a priority in the offseason for Alford, and he’ll make sure they’re prepared every night in the new Mountain West.
Nevada Basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 3rd in Mountain West
Projected postseason ceiling: No tournament/NIT appearance