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Caleb McConnell

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Caleb McConnell
No. 22 – Greensboro Swarm
PositionShooting guard
LeagueNBA G League
Personal information
Born (1999-06-08) June 8, 1999 (age 25)
Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolDunbar (Dayton, Ohio)
CollegeRutgers (2018–2023)
NBA draft2023: undrafted
Playing career2023–present
Career history
2023–2024Oklahoma City Blue
2024–presentGreensboro Swarm
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Caleb McConnell (born June 8, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, where he played in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, became the team's steals leader at the first round of the 2023 National Invitation Tournament and won the Reese's College All-Star Game with the West. He ended that year with 221 steals and 972 points.

In the Big Ten Conference, he held the season record for steals twice. He was named their Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 and shared the award in 2023 with Chase Audige. Throughout 2023, McConnell won the Lefty Driesell Award and was in the top four with the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award. Outside of college, he played with the Oklahoma City Thunder during 2023 in the NBA Summer League. With the Oklahoma City Blue, McConnell was a 2024 G-League Finals winner.

Early life and education

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McConnell was born in Dayton, Ohio on June 8, 1999.[1][2] During his childhood, McConnell lived in Dayton and Jacksonville, Florida with two siblings after the divorce of their parents. He played football before becoming interested in basketball.[3] With Dunbar High School from 2014 to 2017, he had 346 rebounds as part of his 686 points.[4] While with Dunbar at the 2015 OHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament, his team played in a semifinal for Division II schools.[5][6] In 2018, he completed his boys basketball career at Spire Academy.[7]

College career

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Before McConnell started playing for Rutgers University in 2018, he had surgery to fix a foot injury.[8] The following year, McConnell had surgery for his hip.[9] After hurting his back, McConnell decided to stopped playing for a year during October 2020.[10] By the end of 2020, he had back surgery.[11] In January 2021, McConnell made an early return to the team "after missing ... eight games".[12][13] That year, his team reached the second round of the 2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.[14][15]

In 2022, McConnell decided to not enter the NBA draft and instead remain at Rutgers.[16] Throughout the year, he "[missed] five games with a knee injury".[17] McConnell competed in the 2022 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament during the First Four.[18] At the 2023 National Invitation Tournament, he became the steals leader for Rutgers while his team played in the first round.[19][20] During these two years, McConnell held the season steals record for the Big Ten Conference.[21] He had 606 rebounds, 221 steals and 972 points overall after leaving the team in 2023.[22] Outside of Rutgers, his West team won the 2023 Reese's College All-Star Game.[23]

While competing as a 17U player in the Under Armour Association during 2017, he had 74 rebounds and 18 steals with C2K Elite.[24][25] His team competed in that year's UAA Finals.[26] Throughout 2023, McConnell participated at the G League Elite Camp and the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.[27][28]

Professional career

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Oklahoma City Blue (2023–2024)

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After going undrafted in the 2023 NBA draft, McConnell joined the Oklahoma City Thunder for the 2023 NBA Summer League[29] and on October 31, 2023, he joined the Oklahoma City Blue.[30] Throughout the year, he had 174 rebounds and 200 points before becoming a 2024 G-League Finals winner.[31][32]

Greensboro Swarm (2024–present)

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On September 11, 2024, McConnell signed with the Charlotte Hornets,[33] but was waived on October 2.[34] On October 27, he joined the Greensboro Swarm.[35]

Awards and honors

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McConnell was the Defensive Player of the Year for the Big Ten during 2022. He shared this Big Ten award with Chase Audige during 2023.[36][37] That year, he was an All-Met for the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association.[38] He also won the Lefty Driesell Award and was in the top four with the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Award.[39][40]

References

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  1. ^ Pfahler, Laurel (March 15, 2022). "First Four: Big Ten's Defensive Player of the year learned on-court 'grit' at Dunbar". Dayton Daily News. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  2. ^ "Caleb McConnell". NBA.com. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  3. ^ Fonseca, Brian (February 8, 2022). "Unbreakable: How Rutgers' Caleb McConnell went from 'soft' and skinny to the 'toughest damn dude in the Big Ten'". NJ.com. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  4. ^ "Caleb McConnell's Dunbar High School Basketball Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "2015 OHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament Coverage". The Ohio High School Athletic Association. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  6. ^ "Official Basketball Box Score -- Game Totals -- Final Statistics Dayton Dunbar vs Defiance" (PDF). The Ohio High School Athletic Association. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  7. ^ Carino, Jerry (April 15, 2018). "Rutgers basketball: Caleb McConnell, 2018 combo guard, commits". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  8. ^ Carino, Jerry (October 18, 2018). "How are 3 Knights freshmen progressing". Asbury Park Press. p. 4C. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  9. ^ Carino, Jerry (January 8, 2021). "Rutgers basketball: Inside Caleb McConnell's recovery journey". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  10. ^ The Associated Press (October 3, 2020). "Rutgers' McConnell to redshirt 2020-21 season". The Score. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  11. ^ Davis, Seth (December 14, 2020). "Why college basketball games should go on: Hoop Thoughts". The Athletic. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  12. ^ Carino, Jerry (January 3, 2021). "No. 10 Iowa edges Rutgers in thriller". Asbury Park Press. p. 3B.
  13. ^ Sargeant, Keith (October 8, 2021). "Rutgers' Caleb McConnell has a lofty goal after enjoying his 1st healthy offseason in 4 years". NJ.com. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  14. ^ Skretta, Dave (March 21, 2021). "Grimes helps No. 2 seed Houston rally past Rutgers, 63-60". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  15. ^ "2021 DI men's basketball championship Official Bracket". NCAA.com. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  16. ^ Carino, Jerry (June 1, 2022). "Rutgers basketball: Caleb McConnell returning for his 5th year". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  17. ^ Zagoria, Adam (November 27, 2022). "Rutgers routs Central Connecticut 83-49 as Caleb McConnell makes season-debut: 5 observations". NJ.com. Retrieved May 2, 2024.
  18. ^ Butler, Alex (March 17, 2022). "March Madness: Notre Dame edges Rutgers in 2OT, finalizes men's bracket". United Press International. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  19. ^ "2023 NIT men's basketball field and pairings announced". NCAA.com. March 13, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  20. ^ Carino, Jerry (March 15, 2023). "Rutgers basketball falls to Hofstra in a brutal NIT ending". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  21. ^ Petitti, Tony (November 15, 2023). "2023-24 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). BigTen.org (Press release). The Big Ten Conference. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  22. ^ "Caleb McConnell - Men's Basketball". Rutgers University Athletics. Stats. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  23. ^ "2023 Reeses All Star Game Final Statistics" (PDF). NABC.com. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  24. ^ "2017-2018 17U Overall Statistics". Under Armour Association. Archived from the original on July 17, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  25. ^ Smith, Cam (July 17, 2017). "WeR1 captures Under Armour Association title behind 4-star backcourt of Isaiah Wong and Eric Ayala". USA Today High School Sports. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  26. ^ Force, Andrew (July 13, 2017). "Bothwell and C2K Elite Making a Statement at UAA Finals". PrepHoops.com. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  27. ^ NBA G League Staff (May 14, 2023). "2023 G League Elite Camp Official Testing Results". NBA.com. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  28. ^ Ekstrand, Chris (November 16, 2023). "2023 PIT Class Makes Impact in NBA and NBA G League". Portsmouth Invitational Tournament. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  29. ^ Fonseca, Brian (July 5, 2023). "Ex-Rutgers star Caleb McConnell makes NBA Summer League debut with Thunder: Here's how he did". NJ.com. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  30. ^ OKC BLUE [@okcblue] (October 31, 2023). "Let's work 🫡 2023-24 #OKCBlue Training Camp Roster🔵" (Tweet). Retrieved June 29, 2024 – via Twitter.
  31. ^ "NBA G League | Caleb McConnell". NBA.com. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  32. ^ Fonseca, Brian (April 16, 2024). "Ex-Rutgers star Caleb McConnell wins championship in 1st pro season". NJ.com. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
  33. ^ "Hornets Sign Marcus Garrett, Keyontae Johnson, Caleb McConnell And Joel Soriano". NBA.com. September 11, 2024. Retrieved September 11, 2024.
  34. ^ "Hornets Acquire Three Picks, Three Players In Three-Team Trade". NBA.com. October 2, 2024. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  35. ^ "Greensboro Swarm Announce Training Camp Roster for 2024-25 Season". NBA.com. October 27, 2024. Retrieved October 27, 2024.
  36. ^ "2021-22 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced". Big Ten Conference. March 8, 2022. Archived from the original on March 8, 2022. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  37. ^ "2023 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced". Big Ten Conference. March 7, 2023. Archived from the original on October 31, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  38. ^ Stogel, Chuck (April 26, 2023). "2023 MBWA Awards Men's Division I All-Met Men's Teams Revealed; Anderson's Amazing Run Nets Coach of the Year; Haggerty Announcement Thursday". Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  39. ^ "Rutgers' Caleb McConnell is the recipient of the 2023 Lefty Driesell National Defensive Player of the Year award". Lefty Driesell Award. CollegeInsider.com. March 30, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
  40. ^ "2023 Naismith Men's Defensive Player of the Year Finalists". Naismith Awards. March 14, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2024.
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