Purdue's Unbelievable List of Individual Achievements Over Last 10 Seasons
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If you think Purdue basketball has made a lot of history over the past 10 years, that's probably because it has. The program has experienced incredible success recently, both from a team and an individual standpoint.
The Boilermakers may not get the same attention as some of the others in college basketball, though coach Matt Painter has a solid explanation behind it.
"The one thing that gets lost at Purdue, since we don't sign McDonald's All-Americans, we don't quite get the attention other people get," Painter said following Purdue's win over Miami in St. Louis. "We've seen things work at Purdue, we've seen things not work at Purdue. We've made really good adjustments to try to get the same quality people and players in our program."
Individual accomplishments have gone hand-in-hand with team success for Purdue over the last decade. The Boilermakers have piled up several individual records and achievements that would match any other program in college basketball.
Braden Smith breaks the NCAA assist record
The most recent accomplishment came in the first round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. Smith had been chasing Bobby Hurley's NCAA record of 1,076 assists all season, finally surpassing the former Duke star in a Friday night game against Queens.
Smith entered the game needing just two assists to break the record, and got his 1,077th assist 13 minutes into the contest. Signs that read, "Assist King" were held high by the Purdue faithful inside the Enterprise Center in St. Louis after the senior guard reached the new milestone.
Zach Edey named National Player of the Year twice
Edey was one of the most dominant forces in college basketball history. He was rewarded by receiving National Player of the Year honors in both 2023 and 2024, becoming the first player since Virginia's Ralph Sampson (1981-83) to claim the award in consecutive seasons.
The 7-foot-4 All-American led Purdue to back-to-back Big Ten regular season titles, one Big Ten Tournament championship and a trip to the National Championship Game in his final two years. In his senior year in West Lafayette, Edey averaged 25.2 points, 12.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks and 2.0 assists per game.
Three Boilers break the program's three-point record
Purdue's prolific three-point shooting has really ascended over the past 10 years. Since 2018, there have been three different Boilermakers to hold the program's three-point record.
Dakota Mathias broke E'Twaun Moore's record in 2018, finishing his career with 250 made three-pointers. One year later, Carsen Edwards surpassed that mark, connecting on 281 triples in his three seasons in West Lafayette.
This year, Fletcher Loyer surpassed Edwards' record, now sitting at 303 made three-pointers (and counting) for his career. Obviously, college basketball has changed over the years, but Purdue has had no shortage of players capable of knocking down shots from the perimeter.
Edey, Smith break Purdue records in points, rebounds and assists
The Purdue program records for points, rebounds and assists had all stood for at least 44 years. All of those were broken in the last three seasons.
In 2024, Edey broke Rick Mount's scoring record of 2,323 points (1970), ending his career with 2,516 points. That year, he also surpassed Joe Barry Carroll for the program's rebounding record, which was previously set at 1,148 (1980). Edey totaled 1,321 rebounds in his career.
Smith overtook Bruce Parkinson for Purdue's all-time assist record during the 2024-25 season. Parkinson had owned the record since 1977, dishing out 690 assists. Smith is currently at 1,091 (and counting).
Two Big Ten single-season double-double records go down
Developing big men has been a huge key to Purdue's success over the past 10 years. There are no better examples than Caleb Swanigan and Edey, both resetting Big Ten double-double records during their impressive careers.
During the 2016-17 season, Swanigan recorded 28 double-doubles, which set a single-season Big Ten record. He ended the year averaging 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per contest.
That record was then broken by Edey during the 2023-24 season, when he registered 30 double-doubles. The 7-foot-4 superstar also had a stretch of three straight 30-point double-doubles that year.
Four Big Ten Player of the Year awards
Since the 2016-17 season, three Purdue players have received the Big Ten Player of the Year Award in four separate seasons. The only Boilermaker to win it twice was Edey, claiming it in 2023 and 2024. The others to win it in that stretch, along with their season averages:
- 2016-17: Caleb Swanigan — 18.5 points, 12.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists
- 2022-23: Zach Edey — 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.1 blocks
- 2023-24: Zach Edey — 25.2 points, 12.5 rebounds, 2.2 blocks, 2.0 assists
- 2024-25: Braden Smith — 15.8 points, 8.7 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 2.2 steals
Only one other program has had players win the Big Ten Player of the Year award in three consecutive seasons: Michigan State (1998-2000).
Five players receive eight All-American mentions
Since the 2016-17 season, five different players have earned All-American honors across eight seasons. Edwards, Edey and Smith have all received recognition in multiple seasons. Here's the rundown of players who received All-American honors since the 2016-17 season:
- 2016-17: Caleb Swanigan, 1st team
- 2017-18: Carsen Edwards, 2nd team
- 2018-19: Carsen Edwards, 2nd team
- 2021-22: Jaden Ivey, 2nd team
- 2022-23: Zach Edey, 1st team
- 2023-24: Zach Edey, 1st team
- 2024-25: Braden Smith, 1st team
- 2025-26L Braden Smith, 2nd team
Three Boilermakers become first-round NBA Draft picks
Thanks to success at the college level, three Boilermakers have been selected in the first round of the NBA Draft in the last decade. Let's throw in an honorable mention to Edwards, who was selected early in the second round of the 2019 NBA Draft.
- 2017: Caleb Swanigan, No. 26 overall (Portland Trailblazers)
- 2022: Jaden Ivey, No. 5 overall (Detroit Pistons)
- 2024: Zach Edey, No. 9 overall (Memphis Grizzlies)
Until Swanigan, it hadn't been since JaJuan Johnson in 2011 when Purdue had a player selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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