Grant Nelson of Devils Lake receives honor from NDAPSSA – Grand Forks Herald

Grant Nelson helped lead Alabama to the Final Four in his first season with the Crimson Tide.

The Devils Lake native and former North Dakota State star made his presence known in the postseason of his first season in Tuscaloosa.

The Fargo Force put together a banner season by winning a USHL championship.

Nelson and the Force were honored with year-end awards from the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.

Nelson was named winner of the Dakota Award, which goes to North Dakotans who excel beyond state lines.

The Force took home the Non-School awards, with the team, coach Brett Skinner and Mac Swanson earning awards.

Nelson won the 2020 North Dakota Mr. Basketball Award in Devils Lake and after three seasons at NDSU he transferred to Alabama.

He was an immediate starter for the Crimson Tide, playing at both the No. 4 and No. 5 positions, averaging 11.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.

Nelson led the team with 217 rebounds and ranked No. 15 in the SEC in rebounds per game.

He really took off in the postseason, where he helped lead Alabama to a Final Four.

Alabama (25-12) posted tournament victories over College of Charleston, Grand Canyon, North Carolina and Clemson to reach the Final Four.

He became the first player since UCLA’s Kevin Love in 2008 and the first SEC player since Florida’s Joakim Noah in 2006 to post 20 points, 10 rebounds and four-plus blocks in a Sweet 16 or later game when he scored 24 points. 12 rebounds and 5 blocks in the Sweet 16 win over North Carolina.

Nelson finished with a game-high 19 points and 15 rebounds in Alabama’s 86–82 loss to eventual national champion Connecticut in the semifinals.

Nelson was named to the NCAA West Region all-tournament team and has one season of eligibility remaining and will return to Alabama this fall.

Other finalists for the Dakota Award were Britta Curl of the Wisconsin hockey team and Logan Nissley of the Nebraska basketball team.

The Fargo Force put together a dominant run to a Clark Cup title.

The Force finished 50-10-2 in the regular season, setting a new USHL record for wins in a regular season, and claiming the Anderson Cup as regular season champions.

Fargo won the best-of-5 Clark Cup final over Dubuque to win the second league title in franchise history. Fargo won its first USHL title in 2017-18.

Other finalists for the award were the Minot Minotauros and Fargo Post 2 baseball.

Brett Skinner helped the Force to a record-breaking title run in the USHL.

In addition to regular season league wins, the Force finished the season with their second Clark Cup title in Skinner’s first season in Fargo.

The Force scooped the league awards, with Mac Swanson named Player of the Year and Attacker of the Year, Hampton Slukynsky Goalkeeper of the Year and Leo Grubba Defender of the Year.

Other finalists were Luke Rustad of Fargo Post 2 baseball and Cody Campbell of the Minot Minotauros.

Mac Swanson capped a big season by being named USHL playoff MVP and led all playoff scorers in goals (5), assists (12) and points (17).

The UND commit was also named the USHL regular season MVP, with 77 points (26 goals, 51 assists) in 55 games. He led the league in assists, ranked third in goals and had the USHL’s highest plus-minus rating at +39.

Swanson, a native of Anchorage, Alaska, also helped the U.S. to a bronze medal at the World Junior A Challenge. He was the first Force player to win USHL Player of the Year honors.

Other finalists included Bismarck curler Ella Fleming and Bismarck wrestler Julia Araujo.