Ryan Kalkbrenner
 Kalkbrenner in 2024 | |||||||||||||||
| No. 11 – Creighton Bluejays | |||||||||||||||
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| Position | Center | ||||||||||||||
| League | Big East Conference | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | January 17, 2002 | ||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 270 lb (122 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Trinity Catholic (St. Louis, Missouri) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Creighton (2020–present) | ||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||
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Medals
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Ryan Thomas Kalkbrenner (born January 17, 2002) is an American college basketball player for the Creighton Bluejays of the Big East Conference. He is from Florissant, Missouri.
High school career
[edit]Kalkbrenner played basketball for Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis, Missouri.[1] As a junior, he averaged 13.9 points, 7.6 rebounds and 3.9 blocks per game, earning AAA Player of the Year and Class 3 All-State honors.[2][3] Kalkbrenner competed for Mac Irvin Fire on the Amateur Athletic Union circuit, and was named Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Defensive Player of the Year in 2019.[4] In his senior season, Kalkbrenner averaged 16.3 points, 11 rebounds and 5.7 blocks per game, repeating as a Class 3 All-State selection.[5] A consensus four-star recruit, he committed to playing college basketball for Creighton over offers from Stanford, Purdue and Kansas.[6]
College career
[edit]Kalkbrenner came off the bench in his freshman season at Creighton. On December 17, 2020, he recorded a season-high 15 points and five rebounds in a 94–76 win over St. John's.[7] As a freshman, Kalkbrenner averaged 5.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, leading all Big East freshmen in blocks.[8] On February 12, 2022, he scored a career-high 22 points and had 15 rebounds in an 80–66 win against Georgetown.[9] Kalkbrenner was named Honorable Mention All-Big East as well as Defensive Player of the Year.[10][11] He suffered a knee injury in a 72–69 overtime win over San Diego State in the NCAA Tournament, ending his season. Kalkbrenner averaged 13.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game.[12]
During the following NCAA tournament, Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 31 points during a 72–63 first round win over NC State.[13]
On October 23, 2024, he was named 2024-2025 Big East Conference Preseason Player of the Year.[14] On November 6, he scored a career-high 49 points in a win over the UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros and set a Bluejays record with 20 made field goals.[15]
National team career
[edit]Kalkbrenner represented the United States at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Cup in Latvia. He averaged 5.9 points, four rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, helping his team win the gold medal.[16]
Career statistics
[edit]| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field goal percentage | FT% | Free throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | Bold | Career high |
Career Stats
[edit]| Season | GP | MIN | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | AST | BLK | STL | PF | TO | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | 35 | 34.6 | 64.6 | 29.6 | 71.1 | 7.6 | 1.3 | 3.1 | 0.4 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 17.3 |
| 2022–23 | 34 | 32.3 | 69.5 | 31.6 | 79.5 | 6.1 | 1.2 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 15.9 |
| 2021–22 | 34 | 29.4 | 64.6 | 25.0 | 73.6 | 7.7 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 1.4 | 13.1 |
| 2020–21 | 31 | 13.8 | 64.5 | 0.0 | 48.9 | 3.5 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 5.9 |
References
[edit]- ^ Nyatawa, Jon (June 7, 2020). "Big East, beware: Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner is coming to block your shots". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Woodcock, Rees (March 28, 2019). "Illinois Basketball: Illini offer 2020 big man Ryan Kalkbrenner". Writing Illini. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Beasley, Joe (February 11, 2020). "Rim Protecting Big Man named to MOsports Super 50". Rivals. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Snow, Brian (September 23, 2019). "Top 75 center Ryan Kalkbrenner heads to Creighton". 247Sports. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "C: Ryan Kalkbrenner, senior, Trinity". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. March 28, 2020. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Nyatawa, Jon (September 23, 2019). "Recruiting: 2020 center Ryan Kalkbrenner commits to Creighton". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Nyatawa, Jon (December 27, 2020). "Creighton's reserves, who will be instrumental this year, aim to find consistency". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ Nyatawa, Jon (June 30, 2021). "Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner honored to represent US at U19 World Cup". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved July 3, 2021.
- ^ "Hawkins scores 30 to carry Creighton over Georgetown 80-66". ESPN. February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
- ^ Schinzel, Gene (March 6, 2022). "Ryan Hawkins, Ryan Kalkbrenner and Creighton freshman trio net Big East honors". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
- ^ Schinzel, Gene (March 7, 2022). "Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner named Big East Defensive Player of the Year". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
- ^ "NCAA Tournament: Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner to miss rest of tourney because of knee injury". The Athletic. March 18, 2022. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ Kalkbrenner leads Creighton past NC State in March Madness
- ^ "Creighton's Kalkbrenner Named Preseason Player of the Year". www.bigeast.com. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
- ^ Olson, Eric (November 7, 2024). "Ryan Kalkbrenner begins his 5th season at Creighton by scoring a career-high 49 points". AP News. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
- ^ Anderson, Rob (July 11, 2021). "Kalkbrenner Helps USA Win FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup". Creighton University Athletics. Retrieved July 12, 2021.