Huskers Sign Damon Wilkinson
Nebraska continued to reload its frontcourt, as Head Coach Fred Hoiberg announced Monday that South Dakota State transfer Damon Wilkinson has signed with the Husker basketball program.
Wilkinson, a 6-foot-10, 245-pound forward from De Smet, S.D., comes to Lincoln after spending his first three seasons at South Dakota State, earning honorable-mention All-Summit League honors in 2026.
“Damon is a tough post presence who has improved every year at the college level,” Hoiberg said. “He comes from a winning program at South Dakota State and brings size and physicality to our frontcourt. He has very good footwork, a soft touch around the rim and rebounds at a high level. We look forward to him continuing his development in our program.”
Wilkinson played in all 32 games in 2025-26, averaging 13.9 points per game on 59 percent shooting while leading the Jackrabbits with 6.4 rebounds and 0.8 blocked shots per game. He ranked among the Summit League leaders in field goal percentage (second), rebounding (fourth), blocked shots (sixth), free throw percentage (.720) and scoring (11th). He got to the foul line a team-high 150 times while averaging 23.8 minutes per outing. In conference action, his numbers improved across the board averaging 15.5 points on 59 percent shooting along with 6.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per contest. He reached double figures in 27 contests in 2025-26, including a pair of 24-point outings. Wilkinson totaled three double-doubles in 2025-26, highlighted by a 24-point, 19-rebound performance against Omaha.
As a redshirt freshman, Wilkinson backed up former Purdue center Oscar Cluff and appeared in 27 games for SDSU. He averaged 4.9 points on 59 percent shooting and 2.4 rebounds per game. He had three double-figure efforts, including a season-high 14 points on 7-of-9 shooting and a season-high seven rebounds in 19 minutes at Montana. He redshirted at SDSU in 2023-24.
He was a standout at De Smet High School, leading his team to three straight Class B state titles and nearly 100 games during his varsity career. He totaled nearly 1,200 points and a school-record 785 rebounds. As a senior, he averaged 22 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks per game and was a finalist for the Midco Sports' Class B Player of the Year and KELOLAND All-Star Boys Basketball Player of the Year awards. Wilkinson, the Dakota Valley Conference's Most Valuable Player, was a first-team Class B All-State honoree as a senior after garnering second-team accolades as a junior. He was named to the Class B all-tournament team in each of his final three years at De Smet. He also played football and track in high school and was a multi-time Academic All-State selection. Both of his parents were college athletes, as his mother, Brittani, played basketball at Augustana University and is in the school’s Hall of Fame, while his father, Mark, played football at South Dakota State.