Utah State Duo Sam Merrill, Neemias Queta Named To All-District 17 Teams

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State senior guard Sam Merrill and sophomore center Neemias Queta have been named first-team and second-team all-District 17, respectively, by the National Associate of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

Both players were named to the first and second teams last year and are the only duo in the Mountain West to be named all-District in each of the last two years. Also, they are two of just 10 student-athletes named to the list in District 17, which is made up of student-athletes in the Mountain West Conference.

Utah State has had at least one representative on the list in each of the last four seasons with Jalen Moore being named to the second team in 2017 and Kolby McEwen to the second team in 2018.

.@smerrill05 and @nemi1599 picking up post-season honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. #AggiesAlltheWayhttps://t.co/val4Kitlbt

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 23, 2020

Merrill led the Aggies in scoring this season with a 19.7 points per game average, which was good for second in the Mountain West. He became the sixth player in conference history and the fourth player in school history to surpass 2,000 career points. Merrill finished his legendary career at Utah State with 2,197 points to rank second in both the Mountain West and Utah Sate history.

The Bountiful, Utah native made the game-winning three-pointer to lift the Aggies past No. 5 San Diego State in the Mountain West Championship to seal the school’s second consecutive conference title and berth in the NCAA Tournament. Merrill was also named the Tournament MVP, becoming the first player in conference history to win back-to-back MW Tournament MVP honors.

Queta was a defensive presence once again for the Aggies after coming back from a knee injury that he suffered with his national team in July. He led the Mountain West with a 1.7 blocks per game average and as he became more conditioned and healthy, his production increased.

The sophomore big man averaged 12.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in January before increasing those numbers to 15 points and 9.9 rebounds per contest in February. During the Mountain West Tournament, he posted 14.7 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks per game. He was named to the all-tournament team.