Height: 7-0
Weight: 255
Position: C
College: UCLA
Age: 22
2017-2018 Season Stats
PPG: 12.6
RPG: 10.8
APG: 1.4
BLK: 0.9
STL: 0.7
Player Bio
Courtesy of UCLA Athletics
Career
Through four seasons, averaged 9.5 points and 7.8 rebounds per game in 132 contests (94 starts) … concluded his collegiate career with totals of 1,248 points, 1,035 rebounds, 143 blocked shots and 103 assists … ascended to the No. 3 spot on UCLA’s career rebounds list (1,035) … also finished his career as UCLA’s No. 38 all-time scorer (1,248) … registered 37 career double-doubles, tied as the sixth-highest total in program history … played in 132 career games, the eighth-highest total in school history … also ranks No. 3 all-time at UCLA in blocks (143) and No. 5 in blocked shots per game (1.09) … shot 53.7 percent from the field in four seasons.
2017-18
Started all 33 games … averaged 12.6 points per game … led the team and ranked second in the Pac-12 in rebounding (10.8 rpg) … had UCLA’s highest rebounding average since David Greenwood in 1977-78 (11.4 rpg) … secured second-team All-Pac-12 Conference honors … also was named an honorable mention on the Pac-12 All-Academic Team … earned Pac-12 All-Tournament Team honors … was a second-team NABC Division I All-District selection … captured USBWA All-District IX honors … was one of five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award … was one of two players in the Pac-12 (along with Arizona freshman Deandre Ayton) to average at least 10 points and 10 rebounds per game … scored in double figures in 23 of 32 games … registered at least 10 rebounds in 22 of 32 games … totaled 18 double-doubles, the Bruins’ highest single-season total since Kevin Love had 23 double-doubles as a freshman in 2007-08 … scored at least 20 points in three games … recorded 358 rebounds, the school’s largest single-season total since Love had 415 rebounds in 2007-08 … shot 48.5 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from three-point territory (45-of-112), having attempted one three-pointer prior to his senior season … scored a season-high 22 points (tied his career high) at Michigan (Dec. 9) … twice totaled a career-high 17 rebounds – versus Oregon State (Feb. 15) and in the NCAA Tournament against St. Bonaventure (March 13) … totaled a season-high nine field goals at home against Colorado (Jan. 13), going 9-for-10 from the field and 2-for-3 from three-point territory … tallied a career-high four three-pointers in two games – at California (Jan. 6) and versus Stanford in the Pac-12 Tournament (March 8), going 4-for-6 from beyond the arc in both contests … played at least 30 minutes in 26 of 33 games … was one of two players, along with junior Aaron Holiday, to start in all 33 games for UCLA.
2016-17
Played in 32 games (32 starts) … averaged 10.8 points per game … led the Bruins in both rebounding (8.7 rpg) and blocked shots (43 blocks, 1.3 bpg) for the second consecutive season … named an honorable mention All-Pac-12 selection … finished his junior year ranking seventh in the Pac-12 in rebounding (8.7), fifth in defensive rebounds per game (6.5) and fifth in overall field goal percentage (58.5 pct) … recorded the second-highest field goal percentage on the team, making 151 of 258 shots … captured second-team Pac-12 All-Academic honors for the second straight year … became just the third men’s basketball player in school history to have earned Pac-12 All-Academic Team honors in multiple seasons (joining George Zidek and Alfred Aboya in that category) … scored in double figures in 21 of 32 games played … scored a season-high 20 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a two-point loss at Oregon (Dec. 28) … totaled nine double-doubles and had 10 games with at least 10 rebounds … recorded a career-high-tying 16 rebounds in UCLA’s 102-70 home victory against USC (Feb. 18), finishing that game with 16 points … totaled a season-high eight field goals in four games – versus Portland (Nov. 24), Oregon (Dec. 28), Washington State (Feb. 1) and USC (Feb. 18) … had three double-doubles in Pac-12 play and one double-double in the Pac-12 Tournament (vs. USC, March 9) … did not play in four consecutive games in December due to a bruised right knee (Dec. 10-21).
2015-16
Played in 31 games, making 26 starts … averaged 11.2 points per game … led the Bruins in both rebounding (8.5 rpg) and blocked shots (32 blocks, 1.0 bpg) … finished his sophomore campaign ranking seventh in the Pac-12 in rebounding (8.5), second in offensive rebounds per game (3.2) and third in field goal percentage (59.0 pct) … led the Bruins in field goal percentage, making 157 of 266 shots … improved his overall shooting by 12 percentage points from his freshman season (47 percent to 59 percent) … secured second-team Pac-12 All-Academic honors, becoming UCLA’s first Pac-12 All-Academic selection since Mustafa Abdul-Hamid and Malcolm Lee in 2009-10 … scored in double figures in 20 games and tallied a team-leading 10 double-doubles … reached the 20-point plateau in three games … finished with at least 10 rebounds in 12 games … scored a season-high 22 points in the team’s win over Cal Poly (Nov. 15), connecting on a career-high 10 field goals in 12 shot attempts … secured Pac-12 Player of the Week honors for the week of Nov. 30-Dec. 6, averaging 18.0 points and 10.5 rebounds per game in a pair of wins over No. 1 Kentucky and Long Beach State … recorded his second career double-double in UCLA’s 87-77 win over Kentucky (Dec. 3), finishing with 21 points and 11 rebounds … also had 15 points and 10 rebounds in the team’s 83-76 victory against Long Beach State (Dec. 6) … twice grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds – had 12 points and 16 boards in a win over Arizona State (Jan. 9) and grabbed 16 rebounds in a loss at California (Feb. 25) … had a career-high five blocks, also totaling 12 points and 10 rebounds, in a season-opening overtime loss to Monmouth (Nov. 13) … shot 75.6 percent from the free throw line (34-45), making each of his final 16 free throw attempts (last missed in the first half against Arizona on Jan. 7, 2016) … did not play in UCLA’s win over Louisiana-Lafayette due to a stomach virus (Dec. 15).
2014-15
Played in all 36 games, making three starts … averaged 3.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and a team-leading 1.1 blocks in 15.7 minutes per game as a freshman … shot 47.0 percent from the field (62-132) … totaled a season-high 14 points in the team’s season-opening win versus Montana State (Nov. 14) … also scored in double figures (12 points) against UAB at the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament (Nov. 28) … grabbed a season-high nine rebounds in 17 minutes off the bench at Colorado (Jan. 2) … twice registered a season-high four blocks – versus Washington State (March 1) and against SMU (March 19) in a second-round NCAA Tournament game … started at center against Oregon State (Jan. 22) and Oregon (Jan. 24) in place of an injured Tony Parker … also started in UCLA’s home game versus Washington State (March 1).
High School
Three-year varsity basketball letterwinner at Loyola High School of Los Angeles under head coach Jamal Adams … ranked the No. 17 player, nationally, in his high school class by Scout.com … also was rated the No. 36 player in the country by ESPN.com and No. 41 by Rivals.com … was listed as the No. 5 center in the nation in his class by Scout.com … earned 2014 McDonald’s All-America honors and played in the McDonald’s All-America Game on April 2, 2014, at the United Center in Chicago … as a senior at Loyola, averaged 15.3 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.7 blocks and 1.4 assists per game in all 31 contests … shot 59 percent overall from the field and 70 percent from the free throw line … helped guide the Cubs to a 27-4 overall record in 2013-14 … earned second-team MaxPreps California all-state honors, in addition to being named an a Los Angeles Times All-Area Team selection and CIF Southern Section All-Open Division Team selection … secured first-team All-Mission League honors as a junior and senior, being named the Mission League Player of the Year as a senior … averaged 12.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game as a junior (2012-13) … helped lead Loyola to a 25-8 overall record and Mission League title as a junior ... shot 65 percent from the field as a junior, recording 88 blocks in 31 games (2.8 bpg) … registered 3.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game in 31 varsity contests as a sophomore (2011-12) … shot 52 percent from the field as a sophomore, recording 18 blocks (0.6 bpg) … played club basketball for the Los Angeles Rockfish.
USA Basketball
Helped the Team USA men’s basketball U19 squad win the gold medal in the summer of 2015 at the FIBA U19 World Championships in Greece (city of Heraklion on the island of Crete) … Team USA went 7-0 in the tournament, capped by an overtime win over Croatia in the gold medal game … Welsh averaged 2.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 0.7 blocks in 9.2 minutes per game.
Personal
Full name: Thomas Welsh … born in Torrance, Calif. … is the second of Pat and Kathy Welsh’s three sons … has one older brother, Jack, and one younger brother, Henry, who plays on the basketball team at Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.) … spent one season playing alongside his brother Henry on Loyola’s varsity team (Thomas was a senior in 2013-14, while Henry was a sophomore) … his great grandfather (maternal side), Bob Boken, played baseball for MLB’s Washington Senators in 1933 and for the Chicago White Sox in 1934 … Welsh was the first freshman to enroll at UCLA from Loyola High School since Toby Bailey in the fall of 1994 … economics major.