Nick Muszynski

Growing up, Muszynski played volleyball and swam, but began focusing on basketball in sixth grade.^[1] He admired Tim Duncan for his fundamentals, modelling his game after him. Muszynski played basketball for Saint Charles Preparatory School in Columbus, Ohio^[2] He was a member of the junior varsity team in his sophomore season, before being promoted to the varsity team and averaging 11.5 points and seven rebounds per game as a junior. In his senior season, Muszynski averaged 16 points, 11.3 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, leading his team to a 24–3 record.^[3] He committed to playing college basketball for Belmont over offers from Air Force, Stony Brook and UNC Asheville.^[1]

Muszynski redshirted his first season at Belmont. In his debut game, he posted 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 blocks against Illinois State.^[4] As a freshman, he averaged 14.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.2 blocks per game. He earned Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) Freshman of the Year and First Team All-OVC honors.^[5] On November 26, 2019, Muszynski posted a career-high 30 points, seven rebounds and four blocks in an 87–82 loss to Eastern Washington.^[6] On January 4, 2020, he recorded 25 points, 16 rebounds and five assists in an 87–55 win against Eastern Illinois.^[7] Muszynski helped Belmont win the 2020 OVC tournament and was named MVP after posting 25 points and eight rebounds against Murray State in the final.^[8] He averaged 15.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game as a sophomore, repeating on the First Team All-OVC.^[3] In his junior season opener against Howard on November 26, Muszynski became Belmont's NCAA Division I career blocks leader.^[9] As a junior, he averaged 15 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game, earning First Team All-OVC honors for a third straight year.^[5] Muszynski was again named to the First Team All-OVC as a senior.^[10]