LOGAN — MJ Collins Jr. simply wasn’t ready to separate himself from his new favorite keepsake.
After scoring 27 points in 29 minutes to help Utah State outlast New Mexico, 94-90, last Saturday night, the senior guard still had enough energy to lug the Mountain West championship trophy up the stairs from Stew Morrill Court to the third floor of the Spectrum. In recent years, postgame press conferences have been held off the concourse in a space known as the Clover Room — a serendipitous location for Collins, who grew up in Clover, South Carolina.
Likely facing the media after a home game for the final time, Collins settled down behind a long table with the MW’s regular-season prize, still draped with the largest remaining part of the championship net cut down by USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun on his left, while his personal-size piece of the net was tucked safely underneath his white Nike headband on the right side of his head.
“It means a lot,” Collins proclaimed when asked the significance of USU winning the outright conference title during his one and only season as an Aggie. “Not too many people are able to say that they won anything, especially not in college. And you know, along with this group of guys and coaching staff, I’m fortunate to say that I’m a champion. That’s something that nobody will ever forget, and it’s what we live for.
“This was our goal coming in on June 1, when we first figured out who everybody was and saw each other for the first time. So, it’s just an unbelievable achievement to be able to carry it out from June 1 up until today.”
With precious few games remaining in a collegiate career that took him to Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt before transferring to Utah State last summer, Collins stepped his game up against the Lobos, who could have secured at least a share of the Mountain West title with a victory against the Aggies.
After New Mexico’s Jake Hall torched USU for 30 of his 32 points in the first 27 minutes of the game, Collins seemed to take it personally and reminded the freshman guard why he was the leading scorer in the Mountain West for much of the 2025-26 season.
Collins, who took just three shots and had only 6 points at halftime, went 6 for 11 from the field, 4 for 8 from 3-point range and 5 for 5 from the free-throw line on his way to putting up 21 points in the second half.
“I thought our guys were just resilient. I thought we got great efforts from a lot of guys,” Calhoun said. “Obviously, MJ carried us in that second half, but we shared the ball. We made timely plays and, you know, it was just a great college basketball game.”
Collins noted that Calhoun “cussed me and (junior guard) Mason (Falslev) out going up the tunnel” to the locker room after the Lobos scored the final 7 points of the first half to take a 43-42 lead into halftime. But New Mexico would end up holding the lead for a mere 50 seconds of game time.
After coming back down the Spectrum tunnel, the Aggies opened the second half with a quick 6-0 spurt thanks to back-to-back 3-pointers by graduate guard Drake Allen and Collins. And while the Lobos threatened down stretch, Utah State stayed out in front to secure the outright championship and the top seed in this week’s Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas.
“I was very determined,” Collins said of his second-half performance on Senior Night. “(Calhoun) kind of lit a fire inside of me, knowing that I’m a senior and that I’ve only got one at it and this was our shot. And there’s no better way to finish out at home.”
Home cooking
Credit Calhoun and his staff for taking a big swing on the young man with the big name.
Officially known as Michael Anthony Jerome Collins Jr., Collins averaged 7.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 20.3 minutes per game while coming off the bench last season for a Vanderbilt team that went 20-13 and lost to Saint Mary’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
On paper, Collins didn’t necessarily seem to be heir apparent to Ian Martinez, who led the Aggies in scoring (16.4 ppg) and made 3-pointers (78) during the 2024-25 season — Calhoun’s first at the helm of the Aggies. But during a public scrimmage last July, Collins showcased an offensive skill set that left USU fans wondering if No. 2 was capable of being No. 1 in scoring this season.
“If he sees the game, MJ and Mason (Falslev) will be a heck of a one-two scoring punch,” Calhoun said afterward.
It turns out that Collins and Falslev, who averaged 15 points per game last year, are arguably the best backcourt duo in the Mountain West in 2025-26. Gifted in different ways, Collins currently leads Utah State in scoring (17.6 ppg), 3-pointers (73) and free-throw shooting (81.7%), while Falslev is second on the team in scoring (15.9 ppg), first in rebounding (5.7 rpg), first in steals (60), first in 3-point percentage (41.7%), first in minutes (31.9 mpg), third in 3-pointers (43) and third in assists (91).
“MJ is different, man,” Falslev said. “I love him to death. He’s a great teammate, and a great person. … I think he’s been phenomenal this year.”
Particularly when he was back home in the Palmetto State.
Collins was already averaging 16.5 points over USU’s first four games of the season when the Aggies traveled to South Carolina to participate in the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic in Charleston, about 200 miles southeast of Clover. Playing in the LowCountry Bracket, the Aggies opened the tourney with a 96-75 win over Tulane on Nov. 21, then crushed the previously unbeaten Davidson Wildcats, 94-60, two days later.
Collins scored 21 points against the Green Wave before hanging 40 on Davidson on Nov. 23, to become the first Aggie to score 40 or more points in a game since USU’s all-time leading scorer Jaycee Carroll went off for 44 against New Mexico State at the Spectrum in 2007. Playing in front of friends and family, Collins went 14 for 19 from the field, including 8 of 12 from 3-point range, and knocked down all four of his free-throw attempts while playing only 28 minutes in the blowout.
Later named an Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week, as well as the Mountain West Player of the Week, Collins said he was inspired by a pregame speech from his father. Calhoun regularly invites Aggie alumni or noteworthy individuals to share messages with his team, and since Michael Collins Sr. is a minister, he called on Collins’ father to share some encouraging words before the Davidson game.
“Being back in his home state of South Carolina, I felt like it was a great idea to have his dad give the message,” Calhoun explained. “He talked a lot about what an Aggie is. Bulls hate red, and we need to go attack the Davidson Wildcats.
“I thought it was a really, really cool parent video. It really fired the guys up. And for his son to then go out and set a tournament record, it was pretty neat to watch.”
When Collins is on a roll, his offense seems to come almost effortlessly because his game is simply so smooth. While his 3-point shot is the real attention getter, he’s also displayed an excellent midrange jumper and has thrown down some of the Aggies’ most memorable dunks of the season.
But the 6-foot-4, 190-pound guard with the big smile does more than just score the basketball.
“I think MJ Collins is an all-league type of player because he guards,” Calhoun said. “He’s not a one-trick pony. He really plays defense.”
Setting a high standard
Initially coached by his father, a former junior college basketball player, MJ Collins Jr. spent the first two years of his high school career at Westminster Catawba in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Considered the second-best college prospect in the state of South Carolina by 24/7 Sports after averaging 23 points per game as a junior, he ended up transferring to Combine Academy just across the border in North Carolina for his senior season.
By that time, Collins had already committed to playing for Mike Young at Virginia Tech, after also receiving offers from Clemson and Xavier, among other programs. And the move north resulted in Combine and Collins winning a state championship in 2021-22 in front of Michael Sr., his mother, Jimia, and his three sisters, a sweet memory that came to the forefront of his mind once again last Saturday at the Spectrum.
“My family has sacrificed a lot for me so I could be in this position,” Collins said. “My dad would be up with me at 4 in the morning, working out. And we would have some heartache and pain conversations, but he always stuck with me. Same with my mom and my little sisters; they’ve been with me every step of the way.
“So, being able to win (the Mountain West) in front of them just meant the world to me. When I won a state championship in high school, my dad stormed the court, and he was the first person to get to me. And it was the same thing here. When I looked around, he was right there, gave me a big hug and told me, ‘We did it.’
“I’m really nothing without my family,” Collins added. “That’s my heart, and I’m really thankful.”
“His story is incredible. I think it’s one of the best stories in the entire country for a young man to play 20 minutes and only average 8 points a game to come here and potentially be a first team all-league player. It worked out pretty good.”
— Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun on MJ Collins
During his freshman season in Blacksburg, Collins saw action in all 34 of the Hokies’ games and made 16 starts for a team that finished 19-15. He averaged 4.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, while playing nearly 25 minutes a night.
Virginia Tech also went 19-15 and played in the NIT for a second straight season in 2023-24, with Collins taking on a greater role as a sophomore, starting 28 games and averaging 7.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per outing.
Collins’ numbers in Nashville were relatively similar under Mark Byington, but he made just one start for Vanderbilt in 2024-25 and played only three minutes in the Commodores’ 59-56 loss to Saint Mary’s at the NCAA Tournament in Cleveland. Sixth on the team in scoring, Collins shot 42% from the field, went 27 for 92 (29.3%) from 3-point range and was a 72.9% free-throw shooter.
But Calhoun clearly believed that he was capable of much more, and Collins has more than backed up his coach’s confidence in his skill set this season.
“I think it’s a remarkable story,” Calhoun said. “I mean, he’s a guy that averaged 8 points a game last year, right? I think the transfer portal gets a bad rap, but I think we’ve had guys the last two years that would say the total opposite. They love the portal.
“In MJ’s case, we needed another wing player to score the basketball, to add to our perimeter defense and to be able to move laterally to score the ball. I think it was a perfect fit for him,” Calhoun continued. “… His story is incredible. I think it’s one of the best stories in the entire country for a young man to play 20 minutes and only average 8 points a game to come here and potentially be a first team all-league player. It worked out pretty good.”
Collins’ only problem is that he probably set the offensive bar too high for himself early in his tenure at Utah State. After he put up 40 against Davidson and scored 20 or more points in Utah State’s first 15 games, he cooled off a bit beginning in mid-January, reaching the 20-point plateau just three times in the Aggies’ next 15 contests.
And yet, Collins still scored at least 12 points in all but one of those games until a woeful, 2-for-10, 4-point performance in USU’s 92-65 loss at UNLV on March 3.
Collins said that after that forgettable outing he addressed his teammates and declared, “‘It starts with me. I’ve got to play better.’ And I told them they could take my word that I wouldn’t let them down come Saturday (against New Mexico). And I kept my word for those guys.”
While the Aggies’ defense against the Rebels and the Lobos is definitely a concern as Utah State prepares to face the winner of Wednesday’s UNLV-Wyoming game on Thursday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center, there’s certainly now increased optimism that Collins’ shooting touch has returned just in time for Utah State’s postseason run, which, by the way, could potentially result in another cross-country trip to South Carolina.
Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville — located 80 miles east of Clover — is slated to host first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games on March 19 and 21. And Collins obviously proved back in November just how good his game can be when he’s back home in the Palmetto State.
But having the Aggies, who appear to be comfortably in the Field of 68 regardless of what happens in Vegas, shipped out to South Carolina might be too much for Collins to hope for, especially since he’s already lived a dream that started on the first day of June.
“It was kind of a weird way to be able clinch a championship after being blown out, but I don’t want to talk about that,” Collins said. “But once we had the chance to win the conference outright at home, I knew we had every chance in the world to get it because our fans, the student section and the community are so amazing.
“It’s an amazing accomplishment, and I’m so proud of the guys on the team who really haven’t won anything like this before. That’s what this is all about. It’s a first for everything.
“You know, this is my first ring in college,” Collins noted. “And I’m very thankful. And Utah State, that’s my school. You know, I’ve been to Virginia Tech and Vanderbilt, but this is the school that I’ll always claim.”
