UNLV Runnin' Rebels Add Senior Small Forward Walter Brown

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball program has brought in another exciting recruit. This time, head coach Josh Pastner has brought in Walter Brown. Brown is a small forward from Christchurch, New Zealand, and Pastner announced the program had received a signed commitment on Friday.

"We are excited for Walter to join the Runnin' Rebel program," Pastner said. "He is a versatile, gritty wing with offensive skill and is a proven winner who has a knack for making winning plays. He is an exceptional teammate and a great addition to the UNLV family."

Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas, Walter 🎰

📰: https://t.co/UJ3X3u6ujk pic.twitter.com/m9tEgZjUse
— UNLV Men's Basketball (@TheRunninRebels) August 8, 2025

The 6'5, 210-pound wing has been playing for five years in the National Basketball League of New Zealand with the Canterbury Rams. After attending St. Bede's College for high school, he joined the New Zealand National Team at the 2023 FIBA World Cup Asian Qualifiers. In 2024, he played for New Zealand at the FIBA World Cup.

While playing in the New Zealand National Basketball League, he won two championships. He also won a championship in the Australian National Basketball League. In 2023, he was named the New Zealand National Basketball League Youth Player of the Year.

In 2024 with the Rams, he averaged 9.4 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, and 2.0 assists per game, while shooting 51.7% from the field and 42.2% from beyond the arc. Then, in 2025 with Canterbury, he improved to 13.5 points per game while grabbing 5.8 rebounds and dishing out 1.9 assists. His efficiency did dip a bit, though, because he shot 48.1% from the field and 33.3% from three.

This is an impressive young talent who will be a senior at UNLV this season. Pastner will hope to maximize both his ability and his experience for the Runnin' Rebels this season. It's hard to quantify just how helpful it can be to drop a guy who has won championships in other countries onto this squad. This is another example of the kinds of things this program is going to do to get back to the top of the Mountain West Conference and become the class of the conference.

This is a program that has won NCAA National Championships, and now it's been a long time since they've even been close to getting to an NCAA Tournament. Athletic director Erick Harper hired Pastner to turn this program around and bring them back to the top of the mountain. It's moved like this that show you the work Pastner is putting in to bring UNLV back to their glory days.

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