Jake Toolson celebrates a three-pointer during his first stint with the Cougars. The 2018-19 All-American Honorable Mention is reportedly following Mark Pope and transferring back to BYU for his final season of eligibility. (BYU Photo)
Utah Valley University star Jake Toolson is transferring back to BYU for his final year of NCAA basketball eligibility, according to multiple reports on Twitter.
Verified basketball analyst Jeff Goodman first tweeted that Toolson told Stadium, a well-known internet sports network, that he will follow newly announced head coach Mark Pope to BYU for his final season in the NCAA.
https://twitter.com/GoodmanHoops/status/1120886073079554048
https://twitter.com/DurrantMark/status/1120893305879814144
https://twitter.com/drewjay/status/1121059727054475264
Toolson fills a massive hole that was left in the BYU roster when star forward Yoeli Childs announced he would declare for the NBA draft. Childs averaged 5.5 more points and 5.2 more assists per game than Toolson. However, the soon-to-be UVU transfer averaged 0.2 more assists per game while shooting almost 13 percent better from the three-point line. Toolson was also given an All-American honorable mention for his performance during the 2018-19 season, something that Childs was not awarded.
Toolson is coming off a 2018-19 campaign where he saw career highs in almost every major statistical category. The 6-foot-5 guard was also named the WAC Player of the Year. The native of Gilbert, Arizona, will help a depleted back court that lost McKay Cannon to graduation, and is expected to lose Jahshire Hardnett and Rylan Bergeson after they both announced they would be transferring.
Toolson's transfer would be a homecoming for the the five-year veteran as he played for the Cougars from 2014-16 before transferring to UVU. Toolson played his entire freshman year at BYU but left during his second season on a medical leave of absence. Toolson received increased playing time after transferring to UVU while also seeing all of his stats drastically increase during his first year as a Wolverine.