Prospect Spotlight: Tyler Nickel (2022)
Freshman year for most students in this beginning of their new journey in high school where they’re trying to make friends, chase girls and stay out of the way of upperclassmen. For East Rockingham’s Tyler Nickel that wasn’t the case, because the 6’6” wing was arguably one of the best players in the state all season, regardless of class or classification.
As just a freshman, Nickel led his team and the Harrisonburg area in scoring and helped lead East Rockingham to their first state championship appearance in school history. While they fell short to powerhouse Radford in the title game, Nickel shined on the big stage, scoring 23 points to lead his team.
All of that success didn’t go unnoticed, as Nickel was named First Team All State in VHSL Class 2, an honor that typically doesn’t go to freshman. It’s something he says he’s very proud of.
“It was awesome,” Nickel said proudly. “It was crazy to be getting that type of recognition so early in my career, so I just feel really blessed about this year.”
Everything about Nickel’s game is well beyond his years from his physical frame, his terrific skill set and his understanding of the game. He’s able to score off the catch or off the bounce, he understands spacing and moves well without the ball and you can plug and play him at different positions.
While he’s typically the tallest guy on the floor for his high school team, he wasn’t pegged as a post player early on and that’s helped his development. He sees himself as a smooth scoring wing.
“I see myself as a wing or a three man,” he said. “I can score from any position on the court and I’m able to make plays off the bounce. I think I need to become more explosive and handle the ball more often in the open court.”
Nickel has already turned his high school success into success on the grassroots level with Team Loaded VA 15U. In their first Gauntlet series, he led the team in scoring and helped them go 4-0 on the weekend. Joining a program who went undefeated and won a national championship last year has him hungry to repeat the success with him as a leader.
“I want to win a national championship in the Adidas Gauntlet and to become a better player in general. I’m very far from where I need to be by my standards.”
That mindset that he has to continue to get better will bold well for Nickel who is already seeing division one interest. He picked up his first offer from the local school in JMU, and he should have colleges continue to recruit him as he matures and gets better.
Both coaches and fans, be sure to keep an eye out for Nickel on the very talented Loaded 15U team this year.