Why Purdue's Trey Kaufman-Renn Has 'Flown Under the Radar'
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Trey Kaufman-Renn was one of the most improved players in college basketball during the 2024-25 season. He made a giant leap as a role player on Purdue's Final Four squad in the 2023-24 campaign to becoming the Boilermakers' leading scorer last year. He made a huge splash in the Big Ten, but still flew under the radar nationally.
That's been somewhat of the story for Kaufman-Renn's career at Purdue. In his first two years, he filled a role alongside two-time National Player of the Year Zach Edey. Because the 7-foot-4 center occupied so much of the spotlight, it was hard for Kaufman-Renn to garner much attention.
"I think anytime you play with a great player like Zach Edey, the guys who have also done the work don't get quite the credit because Zach was so good," Purdue coach Matt Painter told Big Ten Network. "Now, Trey doesn't get quite the credit because Braden (Smith) and Fletcher (Loyer) are the two guys who came in right away and started. He had to play off of Zach Edey, we would play Mason Gillis ... Zach will get you off the grid a little bit, just because he's so dominant."
When Edey departed, Kaufman-Renn took full advantage of his opportunity. He averaged just 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds as a sophomore, but his production catapulted during his junior season.
Kaufman-Renn was Purdue's top scorer and rebounder last year, averaging 20.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He also dished out 2.2 assists per contest. As a result, he was a first-team All-Big Ten selection.
Some may have been surprised by Kaufman-Renn's improvement, but everyone in West Lafayette knew he was capable of that type of success.
"Everyone in our program knew how good Trey Kaufman-Renn was; they knew he could score," Painter said. "We told them from Day 1, this guy is going to be an all-conference player."
Although Kaufman-Renn flew under the radar for most of his career, he has now created a name for himself. He's the top scorer and rebounder on a team that is likely to compete for a Big Ten title and a national championship this coming year.
That, more than anything, can help Kaufman-Renn emerge nationally as one of the top players in college basketball.
"Now he has a name, and now he can really establish himself," Painter said. "The way to establish yourself and separate from everybody is by winning. I think that's what all of those guys have done."
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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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