Tucker DeVries

Tucker Dale DeVries (born December 7, 2002) is an American college basketball player for the West Virginia Mountaineers of the Big 12 Conference.

Tucker DeVries

DeVries with Drake in 2024
No. 12 – West Virginia Mountaineers
Position	Shooting guard / small forward
League	Big 12 Conference
Personal information
Born	(2002-12-07) December 7, 2002 (age 21) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight	210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High school	Elkhorn South (Omaha, Nebraska) Waukee (Waukee, Iowa)
College	Drake (2021–2024) West Virginia (2024–present)
Career highlights and awards
AP All-American Honorable Mention (2024) 2× MVC Player of the Year (2023, 2024) 2× First-team All-MVC (2023, 2024) Second-team All-MVC (2022) MVC Freshman of the Year (2022) 2× MVC tournament MVP (2023, 2024) Iowa Mr. Basketball (2021)

Early life and high school career

DeVries grew up in Omaha, Nebraska and initially attended Elkhorn South High School. After his freshman year he moved with his family to Waukee, Iowa and enrolled at Waukee High School after his father, Darian DeVries, was hired as the head men's basketball coach at Drake University.^[1] He played alongside future Iowa commits Payton Sandfort and Pryce Sandfort, and Iowa State commit Omaha Biliew. As a senior, DeVries was named Iowa Mr. Basketball after he averaged 18.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 2.9 steals per game.^[2] He was rated a four-star recruit and the best overall recruit from his class in the state of Iowa.^[3][4] DeVries committed to playing for his father at Drake over offers from Iowa State, Oregon, and Creighton.^[5]

College career

DeVries became a starter at small forward for the Drake Bulldogs early in his freshman season. He finished his freshman season averaging 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game and was named the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Freshman of the Year and second team all-conference.^[6] DeVries was named the preseason MVC Player of the Year entering his sophomore season.^[7][8][9]

At the conclusion of the 2022–23 season, DeVries was named MVC Player of the Year.^[10] He was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2023 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament after scoring 22 points in the final against Bradley.^[11] The following year, DeVries' junior campaign, he repeated as the MVC Player of the Year after averaging 21.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals during the regular season.^[12] He joined Lewis Lloyd as Drake players to pick up MVC Player of the Year status for two straight seasons.^[12] DeVries repeated as the MVP of the MVC Conference tournament after scoring 27 points with seven rebounds and five assists in a 84-80 win over Indiana State in the 2024 championship game.^[13]

Just three days after the conclusion of the 2024 season, it was announced that Drake head coach Darian DeVries would fill the vacant position at West Virginia. Shortly thereafter, it was announced that Tucker would follow him to the new program.^[14]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2021–22	Drake	36	29	29.8	.416	.339	.775	4.6	2.1	1.0	.8	13.9
2022–23	Drake	34	34	32.9	.446	.373	.838	5.7	1.8	1.1	.2	18.6
2023–24	Drake	34	34	35.5	.444	.363	.813	6.7	3.7	1.6	.3	21.6
Career		104	97	32.7	.437	.359	.812	5.6	2.5	1.2	.5	18.0

Personal life

Devries’ father, Darian, played college basketball at Northern Iowa and was an assistant coach at Creighton for 18 years before becoming the head coach at Drake.^[15][16][17] His uncle, Jared, was an All-American defensive end at Iowa and played in the NFL for the Detroit Lions.^[18]

References

1. "Tucker DeVries received the offer he's 'always dreamed of' from Greg McDermott, Creighton". Omaha World-Herald. November 6, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
2. "DeVries named Iowa's Mr. Basketball; IPSWA names All-State basketball teams". Carroll Daily Times Herald. March 16, 2021. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
3. "College basketball: In Tucker DeVries, Drake lands its best recruit, maybe ever". The Des Moines Register. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
4. "On a lot of people's radars': Waukee wings Payton Sandfort, Tucker DeVries poised for Division I futures". The Des Moines Register. December 13, 2019. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
5. "Tucker DeVries: Here's why I'm committing to Drake basketball". The Des Moines Register. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
6. "BenFred: Biggest free throws of his life secure budding MVC star DeVries an Arch Madness championship chance against Loyola". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 5, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
7. "Tucker DeVries named MVC preseason player of the year, Drake picked to win MVC". KCCI.com. October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
8. "Drake basketball's Tucker DeVries hopes offseason work helps in MVC". The Des Moines Register. October 28, 2022. Retrieved October 28, 2022.
9. "Illinois State picked to finish 10th in MVC men's basketball preseason poll; Drake, Tucker DeVries lead way". The Pantagraph. October 19, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
10. "Tucker DeVries Earns 2023 MVC Larry Bird Trophy" (Press release). Missouri Valley Conference. March 1, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
11. "DeVries leads Drake past Bradley for MVC title, NCAA berth". CBS Sports. Associated Press. March 5, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
12. "DeVries Repeats as Larry Bird Trophy Winner". GoDrakeBulldogs.com. Drake University. March 6, 2024. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
13. "Tucker DeVries, Drake top Indiana State for MVC tournament title". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 12, 2024.
14. "Conference Player of the Year Expected to Join DeVries at WVU". 247sports.com. 247sports. March 24, 2024. Retrieved March 25, 2024.
15. "Drake basketball's Tucker DeVries draws rave reviews before season". The Des Moines Register. October 19, 2021. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
16. "Tucker DeVries, son of ex-Creighton coach, commits to play for dad at Drake". Omaha World-Herald. October 12, 2020. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
17. "Drake-UNI more than an MVC showdown". The Gazette. January 21, 2022. Retrieved October 25, 2022.
18. Bossi, Eric (July 22, 2020). "Rising senior Tucker DeVries may have a tough choice to make". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 25, 2022.

External links

• Drake Bulldogs bio