Kalkbrenner Honored As Field of 68's National Defensive Player of the Year

OMAHA, Neb. -- One day after repeating as BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner has been named National Defensive Player of the Year by Field of 68.

Kalkbrenner leads the BIG EAST with 2.2 blocked shots per game, which ranks 18th nationally. The Florissant, Mo., native ranks second in CU history with 189 career blocked shots and anchors a Bluejay defense that led the league during conference play in scoring defense, scoring margin and field goal percentage defense. Kalkbrenner had a streak of 25 straight games with a blocked shot snapped on Saturday in an 84-70 win at DePaul and is also second on the team with 6.3 rebounds per game.

Earlier in the day on Tuesday, Kalkbrenner was named First Team All-BIG EAST by a panel commissioned by the Associated Press. That recognition came two days after league coaches voted Kalkbrenner First Team All-BIG EAST.

Kalkbrenner and Creighton return to the court on Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. Central in quarterfinal round play of the BIG EAST Tournament Presented by JEEP. CU will face the winner of Wednesday night's Villanova/Georgetown First Round match-up.

Introducing: @TheFieldOf68 Defensive Player of the Year Ryan Kalkbrenner @RyanKalkbrenner @BluejayMBB pic.twitter.com/WGMkVi2AzL
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) March 7, 2023

The 2023 AP All-BIG EAST team, with players listed with school, class, height, weight and hometown ("u" denotes unanimous selection):

FIRST TEAM
u-Guard — Tyler Kolek, Marquette, Jr., 6-3, 190, Cumberland, Rhode Island.
Guard — Souley Boum, Xavier, Gr., 6-3, 175, Oakland, California.
u-Forward — Bryce Hopkins, Providence, So., 6-7, 220, Oak Park, Illinois.
Forward — Adama Sanogo, Connecticut, Jr., 6-9, 245, Bamako, Mali.
Center — Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, Jr., 7-1, 260, Florissant, Missouri.

SECOND TEAM
Guard — Kam Jones, Marquette, So., 6-4, 195, Memphis, Tennessee.
Guard — Colby Jones, Xavier, Jr., 6-6, 205, Birmingham, Alabama.
Guard — Jordan Hawkins, Connecticut, So., 6-5, 195, Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Forward — Eric Dixon, Villanova, Jr., 6-8 255, Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
Center — Joel Soriano, St. John's, Sr., 6-11, 260, Yonkers, New York.

u-Coach of the year — Shaka Smart, Marquette.
Player of the year — Tyler Kolek, Marquette.
Newcomer of the year — Souley Boum, Xavier.

AP All-Big East Voting Panel: Nick Bahe, Fox Sports; Adam Baum, Cincinnati Enquirer; David Borges, CT Insider (Norwalk, Conn.); Zach Braziller, New York Post; Jerry Carino, Asbury Park (N.J.) Press; John Fanta, Fox Sports; Akeem Glaspie, Indianapolis Star; Steve Greenberg, Chicago Sun-Times; Joel Lorenzi, Omaha (Neb.) World-Herald; Kevin McNamara, WPRO (Providence, R.I.); Ben Steele, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Kalkbrenner Honored As Field of 68's National Defensive Player of the Year

Players Mentioned

Ryan Kalkbrenner

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