SACRAMENTO, Calif. — For the second straight year, a Utah State basketball player has been selected in the NBA Draft.
Neemias Queta, who had a record-breaking career in his three years with the Aggies, was drafted Thursday night by the Sacramento Kings.
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The 7-foot-tall center was selected in the second round as the 39th overall pick.
He follows in the footsteps of former teammate Sam Merrill, who was selected by the Milwaukee Bucks in the 2020 draft at pick number 60.
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Queta, a 22-year-old from Portugal, received several postseason awards in his three seasons with the Aggies, including being named the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year twice (2019, 2021), second-team all-conference team twice (2019, 2020), first-team all-conference (2021), and MWC freshman of the year (2019).
In his junior year at USU (2020-21), he was also given an AP All-American Honorable Mention, was one of four finalists for the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year award, and was named the Defensive Player of the Year by Bleacher Report.
He also finished the season with an NCAA-best 97 blocks, which also broke the single-season record at Utah State. He also holds the second-place spot on the school records with 84 blocks in his freshman year (2018-19).
Queta recorded 219 total blocks in his career, shattering the previous school record of 155 set by Gilbert Pete from 1986-89.
