Cal's Grant Newell Named Pac-12 Freshman of the Week

First-year player from Chicago hit a key shot in the win over Texas-Arlington

Cal had never had one of its players be named Pac-12 freshman of the week. Until now.

Cal's Grant Newell was named Pac-12 freshman of the week on Monday for his performance in the Bears' 73-51 victory over Texas-Arlington last week.

Newell is Cal's first recipient of the Pac-12's freshman of the week honor since it was introduced during the 2019-20 season.

Newell's numbers were not overwhelming with nine points, three assists, two rebounds and a steal, but he had the biggest basket of the game.

UT-Arlington was making a run, reducing a 13-point Cal lead to six points in the final minute of the first half. But after a Cal timeout, Newell nailed a three-pointer with 18 seconds left to push the halftime lead to nine points.

The Mavericks never threatened after that.

Newell, who is from Chicago, has been a starter for 11 of Cal's 13 games, and is averaging 7.5 points and 2.9 rebounds for the Bears (1-12).

He is hitting 40.8 percent of his shots from the floor and just 28 percent of his three-point shots, but he had no reservation about shooting from beyond the arc with the game starting to slip away.

Newell is averaging 11.0 points over his past three games, and scored a season-high 17 points against Butler.

Cal continues Pac-12 play this week with home games Thursday against Utah and Saturday against Colorado.

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Cover photo of Grant Newell by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports

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