Senior Duo Earn NABC All-District Honors

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Creighton seniors Ryan Kalkbrenner and Steven Ashworth have been honored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches with All-District honors.

Kalkbrenner is a First Team pick and Ashworth a Second Team selection in the Central District, which spans the states of Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky. The NABC introduced a new model for its Division I district alignment this season, with schools arranged by state rather than by conference. The modernized NABC Division I district alignment features 10 geographic regions that each encompass multiple states. Every Division I school in each given state belongs to that state's corresponding district.

A 7-foot-1 center from Florissant, Mo., Kalkbrenner leads the BIG EAST in blocked shots per game (2.7), rebounds per game (8.8) and field goal percentage (.655) while ranking second with 19.4 points per contest. The two-time All-BIG EAST First Team honoree ranks third nationally in blocked shots, fourth in field goal percentage, fourth in field goals made and 22nd in points. He ranks second in Creighton history in blocked shots (395), points (2,411), rebounds (1,133) and field goal percentage (.659). Kalkbrenner is one of five finalists for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award given to the nation's best center, one of 10 finalists for the Naismith Trophy and one of 15 players on the Wooden Award ballot. A unanimous First Team All-BIG EAST pick and a Third Team All-American by The Sporting News, Kalkbrenner also joined Patrick Ewing as the second four-time winner of the BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year award.

This is Kalkbrenner's third career NABC All-District honor, as he was also a First Team pick in 2022-23 and a Second Team selection in 2023-24.

Ashworth is a 6-foot guard from Alpine, Utah, who has started all 33 of his appearances this season. He's averaging 16.3 points and leads the league with 6.8 assists per game and 92.6 percent marksmanship at the free throw line. Ashworth ranks fifth nationally in free throw percentage, seventh in assists and 16th in three-pointers made. He's become the first player in CU history with at least 500 points and 200 assists in the same season, and enters the NCAA Tournament with 1,959 career points, 727 career assists and 387 career three-pointers made. He was also named a Second Team All-BIG EAST choice and is a finalist for the Nolan Richardson Award.

Ashworth was previously honored by the NABC with Second Team All-District honors in 2022-23 when he played for Utah State.

Creighton (24-10) will make its fifth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance on Thursday at 11:15 a.m. Central when it meets No. 10 Louisville in a game that will be broadcast on CBS and 1620 The Zone.

Central District
First Team
Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
PJ Haggerty, Memphis
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville
Curtis Jones, Iowa State
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton
Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
Otega Oweh, Kentucky
Bennett Stirtz, Drake
Brice Williams, Nebraska
Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee

Second Team
Steven Ashworth, Creighton
Tamar Bates, Missouri
Lamont Butler, Kentucky
Jason Edwards, Vanderbilt
Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State
Caleb Grill, Missouri
Mark Mitchell, Missouri
David N'Guessan, Kansas State
Jacob Ognacevic, Lipscomb
Amari Williams, Kentucky

Coach of the Year: Dennis Gates, Missouri

East District
First Team
Joe Bamisile, VCU
Zach Freemantle, Xavier
Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Maryland
Jalen Haynes, George Mason
Nate Johnson, Akron
Derik Queen, Maryland
Julian Reese, Maryland
Max Shulga, VCU
Javon Small, West Virginia
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State

Second Team
Ryan Conwell, Xavier
VonCameron Davis, Kent State
Tavari Johnson, Akron
Darius Maddox, George Mason
Isaac McKneely, Virginia
Brian Moore Jr., Norfolk State
Brandon Noel, Wright State
Devin Royal, Ohio State
Nate Santos, Dayton
Tyler Tejada, Towson

Co-Coaches of the Year: Darian DeVries, West Virginia and Kevin Willard, Maryland

Great Lakes District
First Team
Jaden Akins, Michigan State
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
Vladislav Goldin, Michigan
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
Kam Jones, Marquette
Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
Braden Smith, Purdue
John Tonje, Wisconsin
Danny Wolf, Michigan

Second Team
Oumar Ballo, Indiana
Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern
John Blackwell, Wisconsin
Markus Burton, Notre Dame
Duke Deen, Bradley
Jalen Jackson, Fort Wayne
Jase Richardson, Michigan State
Ray'Sean Taylor, SIUE
Samage Teel, Indiana State
Paul Zilinskas, IU Indy

Coach of the Year: Tom Izzo, Michigan State

Gulf District
First Team
L.J. Cryer, Houston
VJ Edgecombe, Baylor
Tre Johnson, Texas
Chance McMillian, Texas Tech
Norchad Omier, Baylor
Zhuric Phelps, Texas A&M
J'Wan Roberts, Houston
Wade Taylor IV, Texas A&M
JT Toppin, Texas Tech
Darrion Williams, Texas Tech

Second Team
Daniel Batcho, Louisiana Tech
Rowan Brumbaugh, Tulane
Cam Carter, LSU
Otis Frazier III, UTEP
Javohn Garcia, McNeese
Arthur Kaluma, Texas
Ernest Udeh Jr., TCU
Milos Uzan, Houston
Lamar Wilkerson, Sam Houston State
Atin Wright, North Texas

Coach of the Year: Kelvin Sampson, Houston

Mid Atlantic District
First Team
Ace Bailey, Rutgers
Solo Ball, Connecticut
Eric Dixon, Villanova
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
Xaivian Lee, Princeton
Jamal Mashburn Jr., Temple
Liam McNeeley, Connecticut
Micah Peavy, Georgetown
John Poulakidas, Yale
Thomas Sorber, Georgetown

Second Team
Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
Xzayvier Brown, Saint Joseph's
Alex Karaban, Connecticut
Kino Lilly Jr., Brown
Jaland Lowe, Pitt
Bez Mbeng, Yale
Amarri Monroe, Quinnipiac
Matt Rogers, American
Sebastian Thomas, Rhode Island
Earl Timberlake, Bryant

Coach of the Year: Phil Martelli Jr., Bryant

Mountain District
First Team
Nique Clifford, Colorado State
Oscar Cluff, South Dakota State
Tyson Degenhart, Boise State
Donovan Dent, New Mexico
Mason Falslev, Utah State
Nelly Junior Joseph, New Mexico
Caleb Love, Arizona
Ian Martinez, Utah State
Jalon Moore, Oklahoma
Richie Saunders, BYU

Second Team
Jaden Bradley, Arizona
Dylan Darling, Idaho State
Nick Davidson, Nevada
Chase Forte, South Dakota
Isaiah Hawthorne, Northern Colorado
Trent McLaughlin, Northern Arizona
Jacksen Moni, North Dakota State
Langston Reynolds, Northern Colorado
Dedan Thomas Jr., UNLV
Jacari White, North Dakota State

Coach of the Year: Richard Pitino, New Mexico

North Atlantic District
First Team
Adam Clark, Merrimack
Melvin Council Jr., St. Bonaventure
Zuby Ejiofor, St. John's
Donald Hand Jr., Boston College
Rashad King, Northeastern
RJ Luis Jr., St. John's
Josh Pascarelli, Marist
Kadary Richmond, St. John's
Jalen Rucker, Army
J.J. Starling, Syracuse

Second Team
Ryan Cornish, Dartmouth
Rahsool Diggins, UMass
TJ Hurley, Vermont
Jackie Johnson III, Fordham
Eddie Lampkin Jr., Syracuse
AJ Lopez, Maine
Quinton Mincey, UMass Lowell
Geronimo Rubio De La Rosa, Columbia
Kellen Tynes, Maine
Nazir Williams, Cornell

Coach of the Year: Rick Pitino, St. John's

Pacific District
First Team
Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA
Miles Byrd, San Diego State
Graham Ike, Gonzaga
Bent Leuchten, UC Irvine
Augustas Marciulionis, Saint Mary's
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
Great Osobor, Washington
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford
Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones, UC San Diego
Malik Thomas, San Francisco

Second Team
Nate Bittle, Oregon
Desmond Claude, USC
Dominique Daniels Jr., Cal Baptist
Barrington Hargress, UC Riverside
Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe, Seattle
Paulius Murauskas, Saint Mary's
Michael Rataj, Oregon State
Jackson Shelstad, Oregon
Andrej Stojakovic, Cal
Devin Tillis, UC Irvine

Coach of the Year: Eric Olen, UC San Diego

Southeast District
First Team
Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn
Johni Broome, Auburn
Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
Alex Condon, Florida
Josh Hubbard, Mississippi State
Yaxel Lendeborg, UAB
Sean Pedulla, Mississippi
Jaron Pierre Jr., Jacksonville State
Mark Sears, Alabama
Adou Thiero, Arkansas

Second Team
Keyshawn Hall, UCF
Chaney Johnson, Auburn
Jacari Lane, North Alabama
Alijah Martin, Florida
Cameron Matthews, Mississippi State
Robert McCray V, Jacksonville
Grant Nelson, Alabama
Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
Taryn Todd, Arkansas State
Jamir Watkins, Florida State

Coach of the Year: Bruce Pearl, Auburn

South Atlantic District
First Team
RJ Davis, North Carolina
Cooper Flagg, Duke
Chase Hunter, Clemson
Taje' Kelly, Charleston Southern
Kon Knueppel, Duke
Jordan Marsh, UNC Asheville
Collin Murray-Boyles, South Carolina
Asa Newell, Georgia
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson

Second Team
Reed Bailey, Davidson
Ante Brzovic, Charleston
Kimani Hamilton, High Point
Cameron Hildreth, Wake Forest
Khaman Maluach, Duke
Donovan Newby, UNCW
PJay Smith Jr., Furman
Myles Tate, Appalachian State
D'Maurian Williams, High Point
Adrian Wooley, Kennesaw State

Coach of the Year: Jon Scheyer, Duke

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Steven Ashworth

Ryan Kalkbrenner

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