T-Birds Men’s Basketball lands heavily recruited local shooting guard Nylan Roberts – University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds men’s basketball program is pleased to announce highly recruited local shooting guard Nylan Roberts has committed to the blue and gold for the upcoming 2024-25 season.
 
The 6-foot-7, native of Abbotsford, BC brings an intriguing versatility to the ‘Birds, providing length on the wings and an athletic threat from the perimeter with the ability to stretch the floor with his three-point shooting. The 18-year-old, who will study Arts at UBC will join the T-Birds this fall after a fabulous high school career with his hometown Yale Lions, culminating with this past graduating season where he averaged 32 points, 12 rebounds and five assists per game. Robertson, impressed every time out  this past campaign including when he stepped up on two separate dominant occasions to pour in over 60 points for Yale.
 
“We are extremely excited to be adding Nylan to our roster,” said long-time UBC head coach Kevin Hanson. “He has had an incredible high school career and is set to make a huge impact at the University level. As a coach’s son, he has been exposed to a variety of sports and has excelled at basketball since making it his primary sport.  He has a high basketball IQ and a dynamic skill set that will allow him to excel. He is a great recruit for us and we look forward to having in our program.” 

 

Roberts has enjoyed the unique position of having his father coach him as Euan Roberts is the longtime head coach of the Yale basketball program and as one might expect from a coach’s son, Nylan is a mature player beyond his years thanks to having good habits and attention to detail inherently passed along over the years. Along with scoring prowess Roberts also enjoys putting in the work without the ball, thanks to an appetite for rebounding at both ends of the floor. As a taller shooting guard, he’ll be looking to attack the rim from the perimeter to clean up off the glass and ensure second chance opportunities.

 

“My best attributes are defence and rebounding,” added Roberts. “Those two elements spark energy for the team and give us a better shot at winning. As a big guard, rebounds and defence are keys to winning and success. Once I get my defence and rebounding going my offensive game and shooting comes much easier.”

 

Roberts won some significant awards starring as a two-court sport athlete through high-school where he also stood out on the volleyball team which couldn’t have hurt in developing court vision and leaping ability. Roberts was a 4A first team provincial all-star and played a big role in aiding the Lions to a fourth-place finish in 2024. He also led Yale to an Eastern Valley Athletic Association title while recognized as the EVAA’s 4A most valuable player in the tournament.

  

Last summer Roberts embraced another basketball opportunity that concluded with him being named a first-team all-star for Team BC at the U17 2023 National Championships where Team BC placed third overall. Robertson’s trophy case is already impressive but one of the accomplishments he’s most proud of is off the court and consistently making the grade as an honour roll student from grade six all the way through to 12, a standard that will serve him well on the Point Grey campus.

 

“I chose UBC because I know it’s one of the best and most prestigious universities in the country,” concluded Roberts. “Knowing I’ll receive a great education is huge for me. Hosting nationals in my first year is a great experience, and getting to play with a great team, coaches, support staff, with a winning culture will be amazing.”

 

Even though it’s only year one, Roberts is expected to strengthen the ‘Birds overall attack that undergoes some inevitable turnover from another winning season in 2023-24. UBC compiled a 14-6 record, good for fourth spot in the 17-team conference standings as well as being ranked No. 4 in the country (U SPORTS) prior to being eliminated in the Canada West Playoff tournament.

 

Roberts first season as a T-Bird should be a memorable one for many reasons including the added incentive that sees UBC hosting the 2025 U SPORTS men’s and women’s Basketball Championships, thanks to title sponsor INDOCHINO, and presenting sponsor Victory Creative Group. The T-Birds men’s and women’s basketball programs will enjoy an automatic berth and It will mark the first time in U SPORTS history that a single university will play host to both the women’s and men’s Final 8 basketball tournaments, taking place from Mach 13 through 16^th, 2025.