Ryan Kalkbrenner

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Ryan Kalkbrenner
Kalkbrenner with Creighton in 2024
No. 11 – Charlotte Hornets
PositionCenter
LeagueNBA
Personal information
Born (2002-01-17) January 17, 2002 (age 24)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Listed height7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)
Listed weight256 lb (116 kg)
Career information
High schoolTrinity Catholic
(St. Louis, Missouri)
CollegeCreighton (2020–2025)
NBA draft2025: 2nd round, 34th overall pick
Drafted byCharlotte Hornets
Playing career2025–present
Career history
2025–presentCharlotte Hornets
Career highlights
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Stats at Basketball ReferenceLua error in Module:EditAtWikidata at line 29: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame
Medals
Men's basketball
Representing the File:Flag of the United States.svg United States
FIBA Under-19 World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2021 Latvia Team

Ryan Thomas Kalkbrenner (born January 17, 2002) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays.

High school career

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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

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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 2022 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 2024–25 Big East Conference Preseason Player of the Year.[14] On November 6, he scored a career-high 49 points in a win over UT Rio Grande Valley and set a Bluejays record with 20 made field goals.[15] Kalkbrenner averaged 19.2 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He received the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award, the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award, and was named a Third Team All-American.[16]

Professional career

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Kalkbrenner was selected with the 34th pick of the 2025 NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets.[17]

In his NBA regular season debut on October 22, 2025, Kalkbrenner put up 10 points and 11 rebounds in a 136–117 win over the Brooklyn Nets. He also joined Emeka Okafor as the only players in Hornets franchise history to record a double-double in an NBA debut.[18][19]

National team career

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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.[20]

Career statistics

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Legend
  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

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Creighton 31 0 13.8 .645 .000 .489 3.5 .3 .2 1.2 5.9
2021–22 Creighton 34 34 29.4 .646 .250 .736 7.7 .9 .4 2.6 13.1
2022–23 Creighton 34 34 32.2 .695 .316 .795 6.1 1.2 .6 2.1 15.9
2023–24 Creighton 35 35 34.7 .646 .296 .711 7.6 1.3 .4 3.1 17.3
2024–25 Creighton 35 35 34.5 .653 .344 .681 8.7 1.5 .5 2.7 19.2
Career 169 138 29.3 .658 .311 .709 6.8 1.1 .4 2.4 14.5

Personal life

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Ryan's parents are Kraig and Lynn Kalkbrenner, and his brother is Nate Kalkbrenner.[21] He married Rachael Saunders, a Creighton women's basketball alumna, in August 2024.[21]

See also

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References

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