Ryan Kalkbrenner and Trey Alexander
Alexander & Kalkbrenner Named to NABC Player of the Year Watch List
11/2/2023 12:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Creighton is one of three teams with multiple honorees
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Creighton's Trey Alexander and Ryan Kalkbrenner are two of 20 men named by the National Association of Basketball Coaches to the Preseason Watch List for the 2024 NABC Division I Player of the Year award.
Creighton, along with Duke (Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor) and USC (Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis), is one of three schools with multiple players to make the initial cut.
A junior from Oklahoma City, Okla., Alexander was named a Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST pick, a Preseason Third Team All-American by both 247Sports and CBS Sports and is on the Preseason Watch List for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Last season Alexander averaged 13.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists while starting all 37 games and earning Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST acclaim. He scored a career-high 32 points in a Christmas Day win over DePaul and remains one of four Bluejays in program history with multiple games of seven or more three-pointers made.
A Florissant, Mo., native, Kalkbrenner enters senior season with lofty expectations after averaging 15.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game last season. A year ago he was named First Team All-BIG EAST and became the 11th player in league history to be a two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. The preseason buzz has ramped up heading into 2023-24 as he's been named a Preseason All-American by 247Sports (First Team), CBS College Sports (Second Team), FoxSports.com (Second Team) and College Hoops Today (Second Team) in addition to becoming the first player in program history to twice earn Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST accolades. He's also on the Preseason Watch List for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
The 2024 NABC Division I Player of the Year - selected by a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches - will be announced the week of the 2024 Men's Final Four. Purdue's Zach Edey won the award last season, and will seek to become the first repeat winner since Duke's Jason Williams in 2001 and 2002.
The NABC began announcing a Preseason Player of the Year Watch List in 2019-20, and Marcus Zegarowski (2020-21) had been Creighton's only previous preseason honoree prior to Kalkbrenner and Alexander's recognition today.
Creighton closes its exhibition season on Friday at 7 p.m. when it hosts Wayne State, then opens the regular-season on Tuesday, Nov. 7, when it hosts Florida A&M at 8 p.m. on FS1.
2024 NABC Division I Player of the Year – Preseason Watch List
Max Abmas, Texas
Trey Alexander, Creighton
Armando Bacot, North Carolina
Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Boo Buie, Northwestern
Donovan Clingan, Connecticut
Isaiah Collier, USC
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Zach Edey, Purdue
Boogie Ellis, USC
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Bryce Hopkins, Providence
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Justin Moore, Villanova
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Tyrese Proctor, Duke
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Tyson Walker, Michigan State
Creighton, along with Duke (Kyle Filipowski and Tyrese Proctor) and USC (Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis), is one of three schools with multiple players to make the initial cut.
A junior from Oklahoma City, Okla., Alexander was named a Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST pick, a Preseason Third Team All-American by both 247Sports and CBS Sports and is on the Preseason Watch List for the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Award. Last season Alexander averaged 13.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists while starting all 37 games and earning Honorable Mention All-BIG EAST acclaim. He scored a career-high 32 points in a Christmas Day win over DePaul and remains one of four Bluejays in program history with multiple games of seven or more three-pointers made.
A Florissant, Mo., native, Kalkbrenner enters senior season with lofty expectations after averaging 15.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.1 blocked shots per game last season. A year ago he was named First Team All-BIG EAST and became the 11th player in league history to be a two-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. The preseason buzz has ramped up heading into 2023-24 as he's been named a Preseason All-American by 247Sports (First Team), CBS College Sports (Second Team), FoxSports.com (Second Team) and College Hoops Today (Second Team) in addition to becoming the first player in program history to twice earn Preseason First Team All-BIG EAST accolades. He's also on the Preseason Watch List for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
The 2024 NABC Division I Player of the Year - selected by a nationwide vote of Division I head coaches - will be announced the week of the 2024 Men's Final Four. Purdue's Zach Edey won the award last season, and will seek to become the first repeat winner since Duke's Jason Williams in 2001 and 2002.
The NABC began announcing a Preseason Player of the Year Watch List in 2019-20, and Marcus Zegarowski (2020-21) had been Creighton's only previous preseason honoree prior to Kalkbrenner and Alexander's recognition today.
Creighton closes its exhibition season on Friday at 7 p.m. when it hosts Wayne State, then opens the regular-season on Tuesday, Nov. 7, when it hosts Florida A&M at 8 p.m. on FS1.
2024 NABC Division I Player of the Year – Preseason Watch List
Max Abmas, Texas
Trey Alexander, Creighton
Armando Bacot, North Carolina
Oumar Ballo, Arizona
Boo Buie, Northwestern
Donovan Clingan, Connecticut
Isaiah Collier, USC
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
Zach Edey, Purdue
Boogie Ellis, USC
Kyle Filipowski, Duke
Bryce Hopkins, Providence
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Tyler Kolek, Marquette
Justin Moore, Villanova
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Tyrese Proctor, Duke
Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
Tyson Walker, Michigan State
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