NCAA Basketball: Top 10 candidates for 2024-25 Player of the Year
By Joey Loose
4. Ryan Kalkbrenner
Creighton has put together some remarkable lineups in recent years, with the Bluejays holding onto a spot near the top of the Big East standings with regularity. Among those recent successes, Kalkbrenner has played a significant role. After a bench role as a freshman, he’s become the center that the Bluejays dreamed about, with incredible efficiency while helping lead the Bluejays to a whole host of wins in recent years.
This past season was actually the third year in a row that Kalkbrenner was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year. He’s done it all on both sides of the ball, putting up 17.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 3.1 blocks per game this past season. Kalkbrenner isn’t just a top-level scorer and rebounder, he’s led the Big East in field goal percentage for three straight seasons and blocked shots twice in a row. In fact, only one player in the nation had more blocks per game than him last year.
Plugging an elite shot blocker into a defense is already a monstrous win, but Kalkbrenner also brings efficient scoring attack on the other end of the court. This Creighton lineup looks a bit different this season, but there’s serious postseason potential once again for the Bluejays because of what Kalkbrenner brings at the back end. Many paint possessions become lost causes for the opposition with his presence on both ends and he’ll look to build even gaudier numbers in his collegiate finale.