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.
Jake Toolson will follow Mark Pope from Utah Valley to BYU, he told @Stadium. Grad transfer averaged 15.8 points and shot 46% from deep.
Scout’s take: “He shoots the crap out of the ball. Can really space the floor.”
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 24, 2019
Great news about Jake Toolson! One of my favorite guys and a heckuva player. Big get.
— Mark Durrant (@DurrantMark) April 24, 2019
ICYMI: News broke last night that new BYU basketball coach Mark Pope has landed graduate transfer Jake Toolson, the former Cougar who was the WAC Player of the Year at Utah Valley last season — https://t.co/3cSClDF5Xf
— Jay Drew (@drewjay) April 24, 2019
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.
