Fairfield University Athletics

2017-18

Tyler Nelson became the school's all-time leading scorer as well as the program's top three-point shooter during the 2017-18 campaign. Nelson comes off one of the best offensive seasons in school history which included setting the school record for career points (2,172 points) and points in a season (732 points). He became the first student-athlete in Fairfield men's basketball history to surpass 700 points in a season. Nelson collected an invitation to the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament and left with  an All-Tournament player berth. He finished the year as the leading scorer in the MAAC with a 22.2 scoring average, a number which also ranked in the NCAA Division I statistics. Nelson also showed his shooting range by setting the program's standard for three-point shooting, netting a career record 315 three-point field goals over his four-year stay. He hit that mark after netting 104 three pointers in 2017-18, becoming the first Stag in school history to reach the century mark in that category. His list of honors from 2017-18 also includes his fourth berth to a conference postseason awards team. He collected All-MAAC first team honors for the second straight season this year after garnering All-MAAC third team accolades as a sophomore and a spot on the MAAC All-Rookie team in his inaugural year with the program. The guard was a NABC All-District first team pick in 2017-18 after earning All-District honors a year ago. Nelson picked up a spot on the All-ECAC team and the All-Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association (MBWA) first team. In addition to his invite from the Portsmouth Invitational, Nelson also played in the Reese's Senior All-Star Game and represented the MAAC in the National 3-on-3 tournament, both taking place in San Antonio.

Tyler Nelson earned All-MAAC honors after placing second in the MAAC for scoring with 19.5 points per game. He is the top returning scorers in the conference with the departure of Monmouth’s Justin Robinson (19.7 ppg). Nelson became the latest member of the Fairfield University 1,000-point club when he tallied the prestigious point against North Carolina State. The guard has netted 1,440 points through his three-year career, including 604 points in 2016-17. Nelson needs 567 points in 2017-18 to become the program’s all-time leading scorer, surpassing Tony George’s school record 2,006 points set between the `1982-83 and 1985-86 seasons. Nelson scored in double figures 30 times in 2016-17, missing the mark with nine points against Niagara in late February. The nine-point effort stopped his streak of 53 straight games with 10 or more points. He ended the season with 30 points against UMBC in the CIT first round, his second 30-point effort of the season. He posted a career-high 38 points against Rider in the MAAC opener, making six of 10 three pointers and all 10 free throw attempts. Nelson earned two MAAC player of the week honors, the first of which came he scored 28 points at Dartmouth and followed with 23 points in a overtime win at Wagner. He picked up another award after his 38-point effort at Rider and 23 markers at Siena. Nelson registered two buzzer-beating shots that won one game and sent another into overtime for Fairfield. In a one-week span, Nelson hit a three-point field goal against Canisius (58-55) and sent the Quinnipiac game into overtime with a layup. Nelson’s 604 points in 2016-17 was his second straight 500-point season, one of only four to accomplish that feat at Fairfield.

2015-16

Tyler Nelson looks to become the Stags’ next 1,000-point scorer in 2016-17, needing just 164 points to reach the prestigious plateau. He comes off his best offensive season of his two-year career with a team-high 529 points which translated into a 16.0 scoring average. The guard earned a spot on the All-MAAC second team after placing sixth among the MAAC scoring leaders. He led the conference in free throw percentage at .880 (147 of 167), a number which was also good enough for 14th in the nation. He netted 2.0 three pointers per game which was ranked 12th in the MAAC as his 66 long-range jumpers raised his career total to 130 in 63 games. He netted three or more three pointers in 10 games during 2015-16, giving him Nelson started all 33 games last season, giving him 63 career starts. Nelson led the team in steals with 44 which ranked 12th in the MAAC at 1.3 per game, and placed second among his teammates with 95 assists. The guard ended the season with 15 straight double-digit scoring games including six with 20 or more points. He netted 20-plus points 11 times, highlighted by his career-best of 27 markers against Niagara in Bridgeport.

2014-15

Nelson emerged as one of the MAAC’s top freshmen which was backed up by his appearance on the MAAC’s All-Rookie team. The guard became one of the conference’s top three-point threats by netting 64 shots from behind the three-point line, the most since Jermaine Clark’ posted 70 three pointers as a freshman. Nelson averaged 17.5 points per game over the final six regular-season games and hit double-figures in each of those contests. The rookie scored 10 or more points in 15 games, second only to Marcus Glbert (27 games). He scored 24 points against South Dakota in his fourth career game, his only 20-point performance until he reached the mark in back-to-back games late in the year (26 vs. Saint Peter’s and 23 at Canisius). He was one of three Stags to have more assists (41) than turnovers (40). He just missed reaching the top ten for three-point field goal percentage in a season as his .424 field goal percentage was shy of Michael Van Schaick’s mark of .430 (2005-06 season). His three-point shooting was effective when he could take multiple shots, making 61 of 135 attempts (.451) when he tried four or more three-point field goals in a game. When he shot three or less three-point attempts in a contest, he made 3 of 16 shots (.188). 

Before Fairfield

Nelson joined the Stags basketball program after securing the Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year award in 2013-14. He is an All-Conference player who scored 1,443 career points while attending Central Catholic High School. He took his high school team to the state championship game with a 22-6 record before falling four points short. Nelson averaged 22 points and six rebounds per game as a senior and netted 70 three-point field goals. He ended his career with 230 three pointers, averaging better than two made per game. He was named the Lawrence Eagle-Tribune Most Valuable Player for the second straight year following the 2013-14 campaign. He was a two-time Merrimack Valley Conference (MVC) Player of the Year and a two-time ESPN Boston All-State player. As a junior, Nelson averaged 16.2 points per game and was named to the All-MVC Team. He helped the Raiders win the MVC Large and Division 1 North sectional title. Nelson also was the MVC Most Valuable Player as a golfer, winning a conference individual championship during his career.