Three years ago, the former First Team All-Area and All-State shooting guard at Fremont High was in Kenya with his summer club team when he learned his commitment to Utah State was up in the air: then-head coach Ryan Odom was leaving USU for VCU.

Six weeks ago, Hansen was in Sacramento, California, heading into the final month of his two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, when he learned his commitment to Weber State was up in the air: head coach Eric Duft was out after four years.

A handful of programs were in contact to gauge his interest, including Utah Tech and a strong scholarship push from Southern Utah. But, Hansen says, Weber State was always where his heart was. He told those coaches he’d need to meet with Weber when he got home, then decide if he would make visits anywhere else.

Those meetings are complete, and Hansen is set: he’ll join the Wildcats as planned for the 2026-27 season.

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

“I was always hoping to be at Weber State. That’s home, that’s where I wanted to be. It’s where my mom went to school, lots of family that went there, went to all the games when I was a kid,” Hansen said. “I was hoping (Kaleb) Canales would be interested in me coming back to the team and signing. So now that there’s the opportunity, it’s a no-brainer. Definitely a miracle.”

Hansen said his dad broke the news that WSU had parted ways with Duft, and it was an uneasy few weeks for several reasons.

“At first, I was devastated. I love Coach Duft. He was the one who recruited me, who believed in me. Really good family friend, great guy … so definitely sad to see that happen,” he said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was just trying to focus on my mission and inviting others to come unto Christ, and just trusted that God had a plan that I’d be able to work everything out when I got back.”

Hansen had three weeks to wait, with everyone else, to see who got the job, then two more before he’d be home to see what was next.

In the meantime, he said Sacramento wasn’t too bad, as far as basketball goes. For at least the final year, he lived close enough to a church to get up shots and do some running before the missionary schedule started each day.

BRIAN WOLFER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

“And in Sacramento, there’s a few parks that were always popping every weekend so I’d go play pickup with guys there and that was cool,” he said. “That was a fun time.”

It didn’t take long to make an introduction upon returning, though. Hansen flew to Utah on April 17 and went from the airport to grab a meal with his family. When they got home to Farr West, Canales was there waiting for their arrival.

“That was a complete surprise. For him to do that showed a lot about him and meant the world to me,” Hansen said.

Of Weber State’s previously signed freshmen, Hansen is the only one who will join Weber State after the coaching change. Tiger Cuff, soon to return from a mission, has instead taken Hawaii up on an offer to join his brother, Tanner, on the islands; Kaleb Jackson, a guard out of Texas, posted on Instagram that he’d been given a release from his signing to WSU.

Hansen makes the 12th player committed to the Wildcats, and the third (or fourth, depending how you count Alvin Jackson III) Utahn set for next season’s roster. The 6-foot-3 shooting guard averaged 18.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game for his junior and senior seasons at Fremont. (According to his father, he’s now 6-foot-5 upon returning home from Sacramento.)

ISAAC FISHER, Special to the Standard-Examiner

He’s also the fifth freshman (though all are at least one year out of high school), and that group joins a set of five sophomores. It’s a young team full of players hoping to create an opportunity for themselves.

“It will be competitive, which is always good,” Hansen said.

Hansen wanted to be a Wildcat but needed to know what the new program would be about. He’s sold on a positive future.

“Coach Canales has lived up to everything I hoped for. He’s a great guy, has a really great family, loves his family, knows a lot about basketball with 18 years in the NBA, cares about the individual, super knowledgeable, putting together a really good staff,” he listed. “So I think he definitely checks all the boxes.

“He cares about his players. He’s hard-working. Most of all, he wants to win and brings a lot of energy. It’s a good, new energy for the area. He has big dreams and big hopes, and I hope he’s sticking around for a while. He wants to be here, he loves it here.

“I’m super excited to play for him,” Hansen concluded. “He’s going to be great for not only the team, but the whole community. I think he’s a guy the community can really get behind.”