Utah Valley Guard Trevan Leonhardt Commits to Nebraska Basketball

Not long after the second commitment of the transfer portal cycle came in for Nebraska basketball coach Fred Hoiberg, the third became official.

Trevon Leonhardt, a 6-foot-5 guard out of Utah Valley, has committed to the Huskers. He has one season of eligibility remaining.

Leonhardt redshirted his first year in college in 2022-23. As a redshirt freshman, he saw the floor in all 32 games for Utah Valley. That year, he averaged 2.1 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game and shot 51.9% from the field.

As a redshirt sophomore, Leonhardt started all 34 games for the Wolverines. He averaged 5.8 points, 5.2 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.6 steals per game. His outside shooting improved from 30% to 38.2%.

This past season, Leonhardt started all 35 games, improving his averages to 11.8 points, 6.0 assists, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per contest. He earned first-team All-WAC and All-Defensive team honors.

Leonhardt immediately slots into a starting guard position vacated by Sam Hoiberg and Jamarques Lawrence. His ability to impact the game at a high level with his passing makes him a perfect complement to the returning and incoming shooters. That ability, though, includes being productive without having to be ball-dominant, something that has gotten past Nebraska point guards into trouble.

Braden Frager, the Big Ten's Sixth Man of the Year, will take the other starting guard spot. Frager officially re-signed with Nebrasketball last week. The Lincoln native averaged 11.8 points and 3.8 rebounds a game during the season. Frager made 35.2% from deep as part of 48.7% shooting from the field.

Earlier this week, Big Ten first-team selection Pryce Sandfort was officially announced as returning. He played the last several games of the year with a sports hernia injury that required surgery last week. Prior to that diagnosis, Sandfort was expected to test the NBA draft waters.

Work to do. 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/XlWxiEiRbG
— Nebraska Men's Basketball (@HuskerMBB) April 13, 2026

Expected to start with those three is Belmont transfer Sam Orme. The 6-foot-9 forward committed to Nebraska last week. He averaged 12.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in 25.8 minutes per game this past season with the Bruins.

Hoiberg is likely to grab another ball-handling guard to backup Leonhardt, but that addition will have competition for minutes. Main rotation piece from this past year Cale Jacobsen is returning. So is sharpshooter Connor Essegian and the redshirting transfer from Air Force Will Cooper. Each of them, although not their top strength, can handle the ball.

Also confirmed as returning for next season are forwards Henry Burt and Leo Curtis. Curtis, a 7-foot-2 big from Iceland, is the top returning frontcourt player for Nebraska. While Orme is set to start at likely the four spot, the five position remains vacant to this point.

Belmont's Sam Orme is transferring to Nebraska. | Lily Smith/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That starting frontcourt spot would go to Boise State forward/center Drew Fielder, who visited Lincoln last weekend. The former Georgetown big averaged 14.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 1.2 assists this past season with the Broncos, shooting 40.9.% on three-pointers and 60.6% inside the arc. Fielder is deciding between Nebraska and Washington, with the latter being favored right now.

Central Michigan transfer Ugnius Jaruševičius could make a push for a larger frontcourt role, if he could get healthy. The Lithuanian big man played in just one game in 2025-26 for Nebraska, dealing with a back injury. Hoiberg has said Uggy "is still battling, going through the rehab process."

The Huskers are also adding a pair of high school signees. Colin Rice and Jacob Lanier are both four-star forward prospects and could see the floor earlier in their collegiate careers.

Besides Hoiberg and Lawrence, Nebraska also lost starter Rienk Mast and backups Kendall Blue and Jared Garcia due to exhausted eligibility. In the portal, Quentin Rhymes, Justin Bolis, and Berke Büyüktuncel have all departed.

Earlier on Friday, Nebraska picked up the transfer commitment of Montana forward Kadyn Betts.

Hoiberg now has three open positions to fill. Those will likely be a guard and two frontcourt players. The transfer portal runs through April 21.

Have a question or comment for Kaleb? Send an email to kalebhenry.huskermax@gmail.com.

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