Huskers Add Connor Essegian to 2024-25 Roster

Nebraska men’s basketball coach Fred Hoiberg has announced that Connor Essegian (pronounced eh-SEE-jin) will join the Husker basketball program for the 2024-25 season. Essegian, a 6-foot-4, 195-pound guard from Fort Wayne, Ind., spent the last two years at Wisconsin and will have two years of eligibility remaining.

Hoiberg said that Essegian’s combination of shooting ability and Big Ten Conference experience made him an ideal fit for the Huskers. 

“As we build our roster, Connor’s skillset fits what we are looking for,” Hoiberg said. “He has performed at a high level in the Big Ten and was one of the top freshmen in the conference two years ago when he set a school record for 3-pointers by a freshman. Connor is an outstanding shooter and has that confidence that good shooters have. He’s been on successful teams at both the high school and college level and the experience he has gained playing in the Big Ten the past two years should help him make the transition to our system. 

Essegian played in 33 games for the Badgers in 2023-24, averaging 3.2 points per game, as Wisconsin went 22-14 and reached the NCAA Tournament. Essegian posted a pair of double-figure efforts, a season-high 15- point effort at Rutgers and 12 points, including a season-high four 3-pointers in a win over the Huskers in Madison. 

Essegian was one of the best freshmen in the Big Ten in 2022-23, as he helped Wisconsin to 20 wins and an NIT semifinal appearance. He was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team as he played in all 35 games, including 19 starts, and averaged 11.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. He was third on the team in scoring and became just the fourth Wisconsin freshman in the last 25 years to average double figures. Essegian set a school record for a freshman with 69 3-pointers while he was 10th in the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game while shooting nearly 36 percent from beyond the arc.  He reached double figures 24 times, including a pair of 20-point efforts. Essegian had a season-high 24 points at Michigan after having 23 points, including 9-of-10 from the foul line, in the first matchup with the Wolverines. Essegian recorded his first career double-double at Indiana with 14 points and 11 rebounds and had 17 points against Kansas in the 2022 Battle 4 Atlantis as well as an 18-point effort, with four 3-pointers at Penn State. 

Essegian was a prolific scorer during his career at Central Noble High School in Fort Wayne, totaling 2,526 points to finish 10th all-time in the state of Indiana. As a senior, he led Central Noble to the Class 2A state basketball title game, averaging 26.5 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, while shooting 43 percent from 3-point range. He was a finalist for Mr. Basketball and an all-state selection as Central Noble went 28-3 as a senior. His 2526 points broke a school record which had stood for 44 years. During his junior season, he led the Cougars to a 20-1 season averaging 24.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game, while shooting better than 41 percent from 3-point range. That season featured a school-record 44 points during an 81-71 victory against Churubusco in the conference tournament quarterfinals. Essegian led Central Noble to its first NECC Tournament title in 50 years during his sophomore season, averaging 24.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. His 648 points that season was the highest single-season scoring total in Noble county history.

Essegian joins a talented incoming transfer class which includes Andrew Morgan (North Dakota State), Rollie Worster  (Utah) and Gavin Griffiths (Rutgers).