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See the full story · 1 sourcesIn choosing the 10 greatest collegiate athletes to play in the state of Nevada, we’re pretty much limited to two schools - the University of Nevada and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas.
That isn’t to say there aren’t plenty of worthy candidates from those institutions, but the biggest names who played their home games in the Silver State did so for the most part in the traditional revenue sports, and wound up either heading south to Las Vegas or north to Reno.
With apologies to Wolf Pack fans, this list is going to favor the Rebels bit thanks to its hoops pedigree. But we think we’ve chosen the top candidates from both locales.
10 greatest college athletes from Nevada
Larry Johnson, UNLV
The brightest of the stars from UNLV’s glory days was enshrined in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2019. Over his two seasons with the Runnin’ Rebels that included the 1990 NCAA championship and a Naismith Player of the Year honor a season later, he averaged 21.6 points and 11.2 rebounds before embarking on his NBA career.
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Randall Cunningham, UNLV
While football often took a back seat to basketball at UNLV, Cunningham nevertheless left his mark in college before his lengthy NFL tenure. He threw for 8,020 yards and 59 touchdowns while also doubling as the punter from 1982-84. In his senior season, Cunningham threw for 24 scores as the Rebels set a school record with 11 wins.
Colin Kaepernick, Nevada
Nevada’s innovative pistol offense needed the right man at the controls, and Kaepernick did it better than anyone. From 2007-10 he amassed 14,200 yards of total offense and surpassed 2,000 yards passing and 1,000 rushing for three consecutive seasons with the Wolf Pack.
Armon Gilliam, UNLV
The power forward known as "The Hammer" was a first-team All-American during the 1986-87 season while leading the Rebels to the Final Four. He set a single-season scoring record with 903 points that year and led the school to 93-11 record in his three seasons with three NCAA Tournament appearances before being selected No. 2 in the NBA draft.
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Kirk Snyder, Nevada
Inducted into the Nevada hall of fame in 2025, Snyder led the Wolf Pack to the Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament titles and the school's first Sweet 15 appearance as a senior in 2004. He was named WAC player of the year that season and scored 1,404 career points during his Reno days before being selected in the first round of the NBA draft.
Greg Anthony, UNLV
The floor general for those UNLV Final Four squads also has a place in the school’s hall of fame. He handed out 838 assists and snared 275 steals over his four seasons with the Rebels. Anthony was a three-time, all-Big West selection and a third-team All-American in his senior season.
Matt Williams, UNLV
A standout infielder with the Rebels, Williams compiled 58 home runs and 217 RBI during his three seasons at the school. His best campaign was his final year when he hit 25 long balls and drove in 89 runs while being a first-team All-American selection. Williams was the No. 3 overall pick in the 1986 MLB draft and would go on to a 17-year career with 378 home runs.
Ryan Moore, UNLV
Moore had one of the great seasons in men's collegiate golf in 2004 as he won the NCAA individual championship in addition to taking the U.S. Amateur title and victories in the the U.S. Amateur Public Links and the Western Amateur. The following year as a senior, Moore won the Haskins and Nicklaus Award with a scoring average of 69.29, the second-lowest in NCAA history.
Linda Frohlich, UNLV
UNLV’s all-time scoring leader in women’s basketball, Frohlich averaged 21.2 points and 10.1 rebounds with the Rebels from 1998-2002. She was a three-time Western Athletic Conference player of the year and third-team All-American as a senior. Frohlich competed for her native Germany on the national team and now operates a sports academy in California.
Vai Taua, Nevada
Kaepernick’s running mate in the Wolf Pack backfield was arguably just as instrumental to the team’s success during its epic 13-1 season in 2010. A third-team All-American as a senior, e recorded 5,159 yards from scrimmage, 4,588 of those rushing, and scored 53 total touchdowns for his Nevada career.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USA250: The 10 greatest Nevada college athletes ranked
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