Ryan Kalkbrenner
Ryan Thomas Kalkbrenner is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association. He played college basketball for the Creighton Bluejays.
High school career
Kalkbrenner played basketball for Trinity Catholic High School in St. Louis, Missouri. 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. 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. 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. A consensus four-star recruit, he committed to playing college basketball for Creighton over offers from Stanford, Purdue, and Kansas.College career
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. As a freshman, Kalkbrenner averaged 5.9 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game, leading all Big East freshmen in blocks. On February 12, 2022, he scored a career-high 22 points and had 15 rebounds in an 80–66 win against Georgetown. Kalkbrenner was named Honorable Mention All-Big East as well as Defensive Player of the Year. 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.During the following NCAA tournament, Kalkbrenner scored a career-high 31 points during a 72–63 first-round win over NC State.
On October 23, 2024, he was named 2024–25 Big East Conference Preseason Player of the Year. 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. 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.