NBA Draft

Creighton's Ryan Kalkbrenner Selected in First Round of Recent Mock Draft

After a productive college career with the Blue Jays, Ryan Kalkbrenner is vying for a spot in the top 30 of this year's class.

Randall Sweet

Mar 20, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Creighton Bluejays center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) reacts after a play during the first half against the Louisville Cardinals in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena.
Mar 20, 2025; Lexington, KY, USA; Creighton Bluejays center Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) reacts after a play during the first half against the Louisville Cardinals in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Rupp Arena. / Jordan Prather-Imagn Images
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The NBA Draft is less than one week away as teams begin to put the finishing touches on their draft boards.

After a few trades over the past few days have slightly rearranged this year's draft order, most franchises likely have an idea of who they will target in the class. Of course, there could always still be unforseen surprises, though, if multiple teams are higher on a certain prospect than the consensus.

One player who could sneak into the first round of this year's class after going under-the-radar in the pre-draft process is Creighton center Ryan Kalkbrenner.

Kalkbrenner spent five seasons with the Blue Jays, and was one of the most productive players in college basketball during the latter years of his NCAA career. In his final season at Creighton, the former 4-star recruit averaged 19.2 points, 8.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 2.7 blocks per game while shooting 65.3% from the field and 34.4% from beyond the arc on 1.7 attempts per contest.

After leading the Blue Jays to another NCAA Tournament appearance as a fifth-year senior, Kalkbrenner earned All-American honors. The standout big man was also recognized as the Big East Defensive Player of the Year four times during his college career.

Kalkbrenner measured 7-foot-1 without shoes at the NBA Combine, making him the second-tallest player at the event alongside Hansen Yang. Kalkbrenner weighed 257 pounds and boasted a 7-foot-6 wingspan in addition to his height.

The potential first-round pick also turned in decent athletic testing, running the three-quarter sprint in 3.34 seconds to finish with a fast time than Danny Wolf and Khaman Maluach.

Kalkbrenner's 29-inch standing vertical also topped the leaps of Wolf, Maluach, Maxime Raynaud, Rasheer Fleming, Will Riley and others.

With good athleticism for a player of his size and stature to go along with incredible length, Kalkbrenner has the potential to be a strong defender at the next level.

NBA Draft on SI's most recent mock draft saw the 23-year-old go off the board at No. 30 overall to the LA Clippers. In Los Angeles, Kalkbrenner would have the opportunity to learn from talented center Ivica Zubac and practice catching lobs from James Harden.

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Randall Sweet
RANDALL SWEET

Randall Sweet is a 2022 Oklahoma University graduate who has formerly written for the Norman Transcript and OU Daily. Randall also serves as the Communications Coordinator at Visit OKC.

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