Sebastian Mack’s return to Las Vegas reunites UNLV guard with familiar surroundings

UNLV, which hosts Samford on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center, opened its 2026-27 season with an 89-77 win over Northern Arizona on Tuesday, led by a career-high 31-point performance from Missouri transfer guard Sebastian Mack.

For Mack, the performance marked another step in his return to Las Vegas, where he spent his high school career at Coronado. The 6-foot-3 Chicago native averaged 24 points, six rebounds and 5.5 assists during his senior season with the Cougars and was named the Nevada Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year in 2023.

After spending two seasons at UCLA and one with the Tigers, Mack has returned home looking to help UNLV coach Josh Pastner re-establish a winning culture for a Runnin’ Rebels program that has not reached the NCAA Tournament since 2013.

Through three exhibition games and the season opener, Mack has been the Rebels’ leading scorer, averaging 25.25 points per game while shooting 45.7 percent from the field and 35.7 percent from 3-point range.

For Mack, the opportunity to play in Las Vegas again was a special one that he wants to make the most of.

“It means a lot to me to be back home, back in Vegas,” Mack said. “It’s where I went to high school and it is where growing up I wanted to make a run here and that is why I came back, to strive and do something big here.

“My hunger is there, and that hunger will always be there every day and every game.”

In addition to averaging more than 20 points per game during two seasons at UCLA and appearing in more than 85 career collegiate games, Mack’s mentality is one of the reasons Pastner brought him into the Rebels’ program. That doesn’t mean the UNLV coach takes it easy on his senior guard.

“I am hard on Sebastian now and I have been hard on him from day one,” Pastner said. “The biggest thing with him is consistency over occasional greatness so he has got to be really consistent, and I would say that he has responded.

“Early on there might have been some (moments) where he didn’t understand how intense I am on things, but he has bought into it and he has been a great leader. He has gotten better, he has got a high motor, he is a competitive warrior and he still has room to grow and get better.”

For some players, the intensity and passion Pastner brings might not be the right fit. For Mack, however, the coaching style matches the type of player he wants to become.

“Really with coach Pastner I just have to follow his game plan,” Mack said. “Every time that he asks me to be consistent I just have to step up to the plate. His coaching style is perfect for me.

“I love coach Pastner. I love the style, the format that we got and everything that we have got going so far. When he talks to me I am trying to be an extension of him on the court.”

With the Rebels’ next test coming against the Bulldogs on Saturday, Pastner is still working to find the right balance between allowing Mack to create opportunities with the ball and keeping UNLV’s pace of play from becoming stagnant.

“You are going to have to give (Mack) a little wiggle room here and there because he can handle (the ball),” Pastner said. “I like to use the terminology I don’t want to ‘give the ball any headaches.’

“Move the ball, point-five (second) decisions. But he’s able to get downhill so there is a little wiggle room there but he has really improved on it. … I am going to keep staying on him but I am really proud of him.”

Contact Donovan Hicks at [email protected]. Follow @HicksSports on X.