Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
2021-22 Men's Basketball Roster
Roster
Sims, Donovan
F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's Basketball
Jersey Number 3
Donovan Sims
- Position:
- G
- Ht./Wt.:
- 6-1 / 160
- Class:
- Graduate Student
- Hometown:
- Murfreesboro, Tenn.
- High School:
- Blackman HS
Bio
2021-22 (Graduate Student): Entered his final season 254 points from becoming the 34th member of the 1,000-point club, 26 assists from 10th all-time, 13 3-pointers from the top 10 career list and 16 games and 373 minutes played from the top 10 in those categories... Scored a season-high 16 points against Winthrop (11/16)... Shot 9-for-13 from the floor and 3-for-5 from long range to put up a season-high 21 points at Murray State (12/4)... Scored a season-high 22 points and led the team with six rebounds and six assists while recording the first dunk of his career at Western Kentucky (1/29)... Became the 34th Blue Raider to reach 1,000 points in his career against Old Dominion (2/10)... Named Honorable Mention All-Conference USA... Scored 21 points and pulled in nine rebounds in the Conference USA semifinals against UAB (3/11)... Came one point shy of his career high with 27 points - including a 14-16 performance from the free throw line - in 48 minutes in the CBI championship game against UNCW (3/23)... Averaged 11.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, second on the team in each category... Started all 37 games, setting a new record for starts in a season along with DeAndre Dishman and Eli Lawrence... Shot .882 from the free throw line, the third-highest season percentage on record by a Blue Raider (min 50 made)... Finished his career with 1,177 points, good for 19th on Middle Tennessee's career scoring list... Also ends his career tied for first in games played (140), tied for second in steals (156), third in games started (110), fifth in assists (349) and 3-point attempts (519), sixth in minutes (3,441), and seventh in 3-pointers made (177)
2020-21 (Senior): Earned nine starts in 15 games in his senior campaign … Averaged 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per outing … Missed eight games in the heart of Conference USA action due to a torn meniscus … Led the Blue Raiders in points with 14 on 4-for-9 from 3-point range in the season opener against Omaha (11/26/20) … Notched a season-high for minutes (25), rebounds (4) and assists (2) in the home win against Murray State (12/2/20) while leading all starters with 13 points … Scored a season-high 15 points and grabbed a season-high 6 rebounds in the game two victory over FIU (1/9/21) … Suffered a knee injury at practice before games against Western Kentucky (1/23-24/21) … Made his return to the court at Old Dominion (2/26-27/21) after the knee injury, but played limited minutes down the stretch … Member of the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
2019-20 (Junior): Started all 31 games at point guard for the Blue Raiders, averaging 8.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game … Led MT on the year in assists (100) and steals (46) … Shot 36 percent (93-260) from the field, 33 percent (47-142) from three and 72 percent (41-57) from the free throw line in 2019-20 … Tallied 11 double-digit scoring games and three games with 20 or more points on the year … Dished out eight assists, then a career high, at Coastal Carolina (Nov. 18) … Scored 18 points on six field goals made against No. 17 Villanova (Nov. 21) … Was one assist shy of a double-double against Tulane (Nov. 22) with his nine assists marking a new career high … Recorded 14 points and seven assists to go with three steals at Ole Miss (Dec. 14) … Was MT’s leading scorer vs. Rhode Island (Dec. 29), pouring in 22 points on five trifectas … Made three consecutive 3-pointers in a second half comeback attempt at Charlotte (Jan. 4) and finished with his second 20-point game of the season … Was one of the major keys of MT’s offense against Marshall (Jan. 9), tallying 18 points and adding seven rebounds and three steals … All of his season-high 24 points came from beyond the arc in a career-best 8-12 shooting mark from 3-point range at Florida Atlantic (Jan. 16) … Had a career-best five steals and made the game-winning free throws against Southern Miss (Jan. 25) … Scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds against UAB (Feb. 15) … Member of the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
2018-19 (Sophomore): Had a breakout campaign for the Blue Raiders, starting all 29 games he played in and averaging 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game ... Led Middle Tennessee in assists and steals and was second in scoring ... His scoring increase from freshman to sophomore season of 10.2 points was among the Top 10 largest increases in Division I ... Tallied 16 points against Lees-McRae, going 7-for-11 from the field ... Matched his career high of four steals against Ole Miss at Bridgestone Arena ... Scored 15 points on 3 of 4 shooting from 3-point range and pulled down six boards at Rhode Island ... Knocked in 17 points and pulled down a career-high nine boards against FIU, narrowly missing his first career double-double ... Poured in an extremely efficient career-high 28 points at Southern Miss on 12 of 16 shooting, hitting 4 of 6 3-point attempts ... Followed up his career-high 28 points at Southern Miss with a career-high seven assists at LA Tech ... Hit career highs in 3-pointers (5) and free throws (9) against UTSA on the way to a 24-point, 5-rebound, 6-assist stat line ... Led MT in points (19), rebounds (9) and assists (4) against first place UAB ... Tallied 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists to zero turnovers at UAB, where he also knocked down the game-winning free throws with 1.3 seconds left ... Led all scorers with 18 points in the loss at WKU ... Missed the last three regular season contests due to a leg injury ... Returned for the C-USA Tournament game against UAB, where he led all scorers with 22 points and collected a career-high six made 3-pointers despite seeing his first action in over two weeks.
2017-18 (Freshman): Averaged 1.7 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds per game in his freshman campaign for his hometown team, playing in 28 games … Took over the starting point guard job down the stretch with four starts in the final six games … Tallied 3.5 points and 3.0 assists per outing in the final eight games of the season … Totaled 39 assists to just 18 turnovers on the year and added 12 steals and three blocks … Shot 51.6 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three … Had five points, a career-high five rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes off the bench at LA Tech (Feb. 17) … Tallied career highs in points (six) and assists (six) against WKU (Mar. 1) as the Blue Raiders clinched the C-USA regular season title … Matched his career high of six points while adding five assists in the NIT contest against Vermont (Mar. 13) … Member of the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Blackman HS: Played for head coach Barry Wortman … Averaged 10 points, five rebounds and five assists as a senior … Named All-District and All-Region as a senior and won District Tournament MVP honors … Averaged 5.6 points, 5.2 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals as a junior to earn All-District and All-Region honors … Helped Blackman to a No. 1 ranking in the state during his junior season and led the Blaze to the TSSAA Semifinals.
Personal: Born Jan. 21, 1999 in Piscataway, N.J. … Son of Dean and Robin Sims … Has three sisters, Shavaun, Patrice and Jordan … Majoring in Leisure, Sport and Tourism Studies … Hobbies include playing video games, golfing and watching movies … Favorite food is french fries … Favorite superhero is Spiderman … Favorite athlete is Zach Lavine.
2020-21 (Senior): Earned nine starts in 15 games in his senior campaign … Averaged 5.3 points and 2.5 rebounds per outing … Missed eight games in the heart of Conference USA action due to a torn meniscus … Led the Blue Raiders in points with 14 on 4-for-9 from 3-point range in the season opener against Omaha (11/26/20) … Notched a season-high for minutes (25), rebounds (4) and assists (2) in the home win against Murray State (12/2/20) while leading all starters with 13 points … Scored a season-high 15 points and grabbed a season-high 6 rebounds in the game two victory over FIU (1/9/21) … Suffered a knee injury at practice before games against Western Kentucky (1/23-24/21) … Made his return to the court at Old Dominion (2/26-27/21) after the knee injury, but played limited minutes down the stretch … Member of the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
2019-20 (Junior): Started all 31 games at point guard for the Blue Raiders, averaging 8.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game … Led MT on the year in assists (100) and steals (46) … Shot 36 percent (93-260) from the field, 33 percent (47-142) from three and 72 percent (41-57) from the free throw line in 2019-20 … Tallied 11 double-digit scoring games and three games with 20 or more points on the year … Dished out eight assists, then a career high, at Coastal Carolina (Nov. 18) … Scored 18 points on six field goals made against No. 17 Villanova (Nov. 21) … Was one assist shy of a double-double against Tulane (Nov. 22) with his nine assists marking a new career high … Recorded 14 points and seven assists to go with three steals at Ole Miss (Dec. 14) … Was MT’s leading scorer vs. Rhode Island (Dec. 29), pouring in 22 points on five trifectas … Made three consecutive 3-pointers in a second half comeback attempt at Charlotte (Jan. 4) and finished with his second 20-point game of the season … Was one of the major keys of MT’s offense against Marshall (Jan. 9), tallying 18 points and adding seven rebounds and three steals … All of his season-high 24 points came from beyond the arc in a career-best 8-12 shooting mark from 3-point range at Florida Atlantic (Jan. 16) … Had a career-best five steals and made the game-winning free throws against Southern Miss (Jan. 25) … Scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds against UAB (Feb. 15) … Member of the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
2018-19 (Sophomore): Had a breakout campaign for the Blue Raiders, starting all 29 games he played in and averaging 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals per game ... Led Middle Tennessee in assists and steals and was second in scoring ... His scoring increase from freshman to sophomore season of 10.2 points was among the Top 10 largest increases in Division I ... Tallied 16 points against Lees-McRae, going 7-for-11 from the field ... Matched his career high of four steals against Ole Miss at Bridgestone Arena ... Scored 15 points on 3 of 4 shooting from 3-point range and pulled down six boards at Rhode Island ... Knocked in 17 points and pulled down a career-high nine boards against FIU, narrowly missing his first career double-double ... Poured in an extremely efficient career-high 28 points at Southern Miss on 12 of 16 shooting, hitting 4 of 6 3-point attempts ... Followed up his career-high 28 points at Southern Miss with a career-high seven assists at LA Tech ... Hit career highs in 3-pointers (5) and free throws (9) against UTSA on the way to a 24-point, 5-rebound, 6-assist stat line ... Led MT in points (19), rebounds (9) and assists (4) against first place UAB ... Tallied 23 points, seven rebounds and six assists to zero turnovers at UAB, where he also knocked down the game-winning free throws with 1.3 seconds left ... Led all scorers with 18 points in the loss at WKU ... Missed the last three regular season contests due to a leg injury ... Returned for the C-USA Tournament game against UAB, where he led all scorers with 22 points and collected a career-high six made 3-pointers despite seeing his first action in over two weeks.
2017-18 (Freshman): Averaged 1.7 points, 1.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds per game in his freshman campaign for his hometown team, playing in 28 games … Took over the starting point guard job down the stretch with four starts in the final six games … Tallied 3.5 points and 3.0 assists per outing in the final eight games of the season … Totaled 39 assists to just 18 turnovers on the year and added 12 steals and three blocks … Shot 51.6 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from three … Had five points, a career-high five rebounds and four assists in 23 minutes off the bench at LA Tech (Feb. 17) … Tallied career highs in points (six) and assists (six) against WKU (Mar. 1) as the Blue Raiders clinched the C-USA regular season title … Matched his career high of six points while adding five assists in the NIT contest against Vermont (Mar. 13) … Member of the Conference USA Commissioner’s Honor Roll.
Blackman HS: Played for head coach Barry Wortman … Averaged 10 points, five rebounds and five assists as a senior … Named All-District and All-Region as a senior and won District Tournament MVP honors … Averaged 5.6 points, 5.2 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.1 steals as a junior to earn All-District and All-Region honors … Helped Blackman to a No. 1 ranking in the state during his junior season and led the Blaze to the TSSAA Semifinals.
Personal: Born Jan. 21, 1999 in Piscataway, N.J. … Son of Dean and Robin Sims … Has three sisters, Shavaun, Patrice and Jordan … Majoring in Leisure, Sport and Tourism Studies … Hobbies include playing video games, golfing and watching movies … Favorite food is french fries … Favorite superhero is Spiderman … Favorite athlete is Zach Lavine.
Facility tour – Stephen and Denise Smith Student-Athlete Performance Center
Wednesday, July 30
2025 Blue Raider Blitz Media Panel
Thursday, July 03
MTSU Men's Basketball Coach Nick McDevitt interview at 2025 Blue Raider Blitz
Monday, June 30
MTSU Men's Basketball Post Game Press Conference vs Chattanooga NIT 3/18/25
Tuesday, March 18
