Sam Hoiberg and Rienk Mast are getting their shot at the NBA.
Announced shortly after the conclusion of the second round of the 2026 NBA Draft, NU’s starting duo of Hoiberg and Mast, All-Big Ten selections in 2025-26, have both signed UDFA contracts with NBA teams.
Hoiberg, a walk-on turned All-Big Ten selection, has signed with the Phoenix Suns. Mast, a two-time All-Big Ten selection during his Husker career, has signed with the Indiana Pacers.
Here’s the latest on both players’ journey to the NBA, including the college production that helped earn them an opportunity with their respective teams.
Hoiberg’s Collegiate Career and Accolades
Hoiberg quarterbacked a Nebraska men’s basketball team in 2025-26 that took the country by surprise. Before the season, NU was projected to finish 14th in the Big Ten. Instead, the Huskers finished second, trailing only the eventual national championship-winning Michigan Wolverines.
As a senior, Hoiberg earned both All-Big Ten Honorable Mention and Big Ten All-Defensive Team honors. He started all 35 games, averaging 9.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per contest. After helping lead NU to a 28-7 record, the most wins in program history, Hoiberg also set the school’s single-season assist-to-turnover ratio record (3.75-to-1).
The coach’s son finishes his career among Nebraska’s all-time leaders in both games played (125, tied for 10th) and steals (162, seventh). He’ll not only go down as one of the most productive (former) walk-ons in program history, but as one of the most memorable players of the 2000’s.
Following in His Father’s Footsteps
Before Fred Hoiberg became the 2025-26 AP National Coach of the Year, “The Mayor” spent a decade in the NBA. Selected 52nd overall by the Indiana Pacers in the 1995 NBA Draft, he played four seasons with the franchise before signing with the Chicago Bulls. Hoiberg spent another four years in Chicago before finishing his career with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2005.
In total, Hoiberg appeared in 541 NBA games and was a member of three playoff teams. He scored 2,944 career points and led the league in three-point shooting percentage during his final season, connecting on 48.3 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc.
At age 33, Hoiberg was forced to medically retire after undergoing open-heart surgery. Since then, he’s held front office and head coaching roles with the Timberwolves, Iowa State, the Bulls, and Nebraska. Now, more than three decades after the start of Fred’s NBA career, his son will get an opportunity to follow a similar path.
Mast’s Collegiate Career and Accolades
So too will Rienk Mast, who spent four seasons at Bradley before joining the Big Red. After redshirting in 2019-20 due to injury, the 6-foot-10 forward totaled 1,001 points and 657 rebounds in three seasons with the Braves.
During his final season in the Missouri Valley Conference, Mast finished third in MVC Player of the Year voting while recording 26 double-figure scoring performances and nine double-doubles.
He carried that production to Lincoln as well. As a junior at Nebraska, Mast helped lead the Huskers to 23 wins and their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2014. He started 32 games and averaged 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per contest before suffering a knee injury in May of 2024 that sidelined him for the entirety of the 2024-25 season.
The road back wasn’t always smooth, but NU continued to find success in his absence, winning the inaugural College Basketball Crown. Mast ultimately elected to return to Lincoln for his final season of eligibility.
As a senior in 2025-26, he started in 34 games during what became the best season in program history. While also helping lead the Huskers to a 28-7 record, Mast averaged 13.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game.
Mast finishes his collegiate career having appeared in 154 games, totaling 1,894 points, 1,094 rebounds, and 351 assists. He also recorded the third triple-double in Nebraska history against FIU on Nov. 8, 2025.
Nebraska’s NBA Pipeline (Under Fred Hoiberg’s Staff)
Nebraska has had 15 former players reach the NBA, including two drafted under Fred Hoiberg’s watch. Dalano Banton was selected 46th overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2021 NBA Draft after playing one season with the Huskers (2020-21), appearing in 27 games with 22 starts.
The following year, Bryce McGowens was selected 40th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets. In his lone season at Nebraska, McGowens earned Big Ten Newcomer of the Year honors while also being named to the Big Ten All-Freshman and Third-Team All-Big Ten teams.
Other Hoiberg-era Huskers, including Brice Williams and Keisei Tominaga, have spent time in the NBA G League but have yet to crack an NBA roster.
Hoiberg and Mast now have the opportunity to join that list as undrafted free agent prospects this summer. Both enter their next chapter with different challenges ahead. Mast has health and durability questions, and Hoiberg has questions about size. Still, both have beaten the odds to this point. Time will tell if they can do it again.