With the postseason for the Oregon State University men’s basketball team and the West Coast Conference tournament right around the corner, Nate Kingz is putting a cap on a productive season.

The 6-foot-5-inch junior guard from Keizer was on the team for the 2023-2024 season but never saw a single minute of game time due to an ACL injury. 

Recovery was a season-long process, but Kingz was able to observe the team and grow as he healed, even though he wasn’t able to play. 

“Credit to him for being locked in mentally all year so that it didn’t take him, you know, three months into the season to be a positive impact,” said head coach Wayne Tinkle on Kingz’s play this season. “That’s what really impressed us with Nate. Didn’t take him long — handful of games before he was back to what we knew he could be.”

Coming off of his injury, Kingz changed his name from Nate Meithof, hoping to create a new family legacy under a new name. He wants the name to stand for hard work and belief in yourself.

Despite not being able to play or practice at full health last year, it hasn’t slowed Kingz down at all, and he has come on strong this season, speeding it up.

OSU opened their regular season with four wins in a row, where Kingz averaged over 16 points, including his season high 22 points against California State University, Fullerton. Despite his individual efforts, Kingz stressed the importance of the team unit.

“It’s been good, but it’s really because my teammates is finding me. They help me on screens, help talking to me, you know, just being selfless and just giving it up to the open man,” Kingz said. “Just playing team basketball.”

The train didn’t stop later in the season, when Kingz made 20 points each against the University of the Pacific, Gonzaga University and Pepperdine University in January. Over these three games, he shot with a 60.9% clip and made 11 three-pointers. 

Still, Kingz stayed humble.

“Really it’s nothing I figured out,” Kingz said after facing Pepperdine. “It’s just my teammates setting me up to get wide-open looks, setting myself up by coming off screens hard, getting out and transitioning and running. Just all the little things have helped me out a lot.”

Kingz is truly skilled at shooting from deep, making 47.3% of his three-pointers. He has the highest success rate for threes on the team for players who have attempted at least 15.

Kingz leads the WCC in three-point percentage for those with sufficient attempts. With 53 made shots from beyond the arc over 27 games, his shooting skill has been a boon to the Beavers.

Not restricted to long shots, Kingz has also been efficient closer to the basket. His 52.4% field goal percentage puts him third on the team for players who have attempted at least 15 shots, only behind forwards Parsa Fallah and Maxim Logue.

“You’ve seen what’s happened to us offensively. We’re scoring more, we’re more efficient. The guy can drive it, he can shoot it, he’s a great teammate,” Tinkle said. “We know with Nate last year we probably win a handful more games.”

Before coming to Oregon State, Kingz played for Westmont College in the NAIA and for College of Southern Idaho in the NJCAA. At CSI, he averaged 16.5 points per game with a team finishing with a 29-2 season. Compared to now, his field goal percentage was similar at CSI, where he shot at 51.5%. However, his threes have markedly improved since his 2022-2023 junior college season, where he made 38.4% of his attempted three-pointers.

While Kingz has had a fruitful season, Tinkle still sees room for growth.

“He’s still not 100% confident on that knee because he’s a way better defender than what he’s been showing us consistently,” Tinkle said. 

This doesn’t mean Kingz isn’t effective on the defensive — he averages .8 steals and .5 blocks a game, with a season high of 4 steals against Western Oregon University. 

The WCC tournament and March Madness are right around the corner. With how the WCC tournament bracket is set up, with lower seeds having to win more games than higher seeds, it’s critical the Beavers finish strong in the regular season to set themselves up for success in the postseason – both in terms of seeding and simply being prepared.

With Kingz averaging the third most time of the Beavers spent on the court during games, he’s likely to be a major component of OSU’s strategy heading into March.