Father played baseball at Snow College and Southern Utah
Before BYU
Selected in the 40th round of the MLB Draft by the Cleveland Indians
Ranked the top player in Utah, the 13th-best left-handed pitcher in the nation and the 143rd-best player overall nationally
2019 Collegiate Baseball High School All-America Second Team
2019 Gatorade Baseball Player of the Year (Utah)
Three-time All-State selection
2018 Cincinnati Reds Area Code Games
BYU Hall of Fame
Freshman Year
2021
West Coast Conference Commissioner’s Bronze Honor Roll for academic excellence
Appeared in 18 games
Started six games with an overall record of 3-3
Pitched 33.2 innings with an ERA of 7.75
Second on the team in wins (3), third in games started (6), fourth in win-loss percentage (.500)
Sophmore Year
2022
Appeared in 28 games out of the bullpen for BYU as a sophomore in 2022
Finished the year with a record of 3-0 and a 3.21 ERA
Struck out 45 batters over 33.2 innings and held opposing hitters to a .222 average
Named 2022 All-West Coast Conference Honorable Mention in 2022
Selected in the eighth round of the 2022 MLB Baseball Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates as the 230th player taken
Became just the second Cougar to be selected by the Pirates. The other was former BYU player and head coach Vance Law, who was taken in the 1978 MLB Draft by Pittsburg and went on to play 11 MLB seasons. Nielson was previously selected in the 40th round by Cleveland in the 2019 MLB Draft.
Junior Year
Senior Year
Graduate Year
Redshirt Year
Medical Redshirt Year
Freshman
2020
Made four starts, finishing with a 4.29 ERA and 0-3 record, throwing 21 innings with a team-high 27 strikeouts and six earned runs
Struck out six in 3.2 innings in his career debut vs. New Mexico (2/15)
Had a career-high nine strikeouts in seven innings at Oklahoma State (3/6)
The 2020 season was cut short after 16 games when the NCAA canceled baseball due to the Covid Pandemic