Nate Pickens joins Cougars for 2025-26 season

PROVO – BYU head men’s basketball coach Kevin Young continues to build the roster for the 2025-26 season with the addition of Nate Pickens.

“We’d like to welcome Nate and his family to BYU,” Young said. “We are so excited to have them join us. Nate brings a level of experience and toughness that we were looking to add. His ability to knock shots down from three and play on-and-off the ball will fit in well with our group. He is a high-level defender who has the strength and athleticism needed to defend guys in our league. We’re ready to get Nate on campus and get to work.”

Pickens joins the Cougars after appearing in 97 games, including 53 starts during his three-year career at UC Riverside. During his time as a Highlander, the El Mirage, Ariz. native scored over 700 points, while shooting 37.2 percent from the field, 35.3 percent from three and 74.4 percent from the free throw line.

The 6-foot-3 guard averaged a career-high 9.8 points per game in 2024-25, shooting 39.4 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from three and 75.9 percent from the free throw line. He also averaged 3.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game for a Highlander squad that advanced to the NIT for the first time in program history.

Pickens scored in double figures 17 times, including an 18-point output against BYU in the Cougars' 86-80 victory on Nov. 8 at the Marriott Center. He scored a career-high 27 points in a win over Long Beach State where he went 8-of-13 from the field, 4-of-7 from three and a perfect 7-of-7 from the charity stripe.

As a sophomore in 2023-24, Pickens played in 34 games, including 22 starts where he averaged 9.3 points per contest. He scored in double figures 15 times, eight of those coming in the final 11 games of the season, including a season-high 20-point performance against Cal State Fullerton.  He also recorded the first double-double of his career against Idaho on Dec. 21 with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

He appeared in 30 games as a true freshman in 2022-23, averaging 2.0 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He scored in double figures for the first time in his career in a 96-76 win over CSUN finishing with 10 points going 3-of-7 from the field and 2-of-5 from beyond the arc.