Featured Testimonial About Creighton University
Creighton fans haven’t recently been able to root for the Jays on the court. The season’s been over for more than a month.
Yet there’s been plenty of things to celebrate since the end of the 2024-25 men’s basketball season. We have a long list!
We’ll keep this page updated with any additional Creighton basketball offseason headlines (the Jays are in reload-mode and could still make more roster additions).
Homecoming for Huss
Creighton head coach Greg McDermott is still in charge, but there’s now a plan in place for the eventual day that the all-time winningest coach in Bluejay basketball history decides to retire.
Alan Huss, BSBA'02, is now Creighton’s associate head coach and head coach in waiting.
Huss, a former Bluejay player, was on the Creighton bench as an assistant coach under McDermott from 2017 to 2023. Huss spent the previous two seasons at High Point, leading the Panthers to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance in March.
When the time is right, McDermott will assist in the transition and support the program's future success under Huss’ leadership.
"I'm humbled and I'm honored that it's me," Huss said.
Huss met with local reporters on Monday, May 5, to discuss his return to Creighton. See the video of that interview below:
Major awards cap Kalkbrenner’s career
Ryan Kalkbrenner’s Creighton legacy was already cemented. But now he’ll need a new trophy case.
Kalkbrenner was named the Naismith National Defensive Player of the Year (he was the NABC’s Defensive Player of the Year, too). He also earned the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, an honor bestowed upon the nation’s top center.
Kalkbrenner, BSBA'23, was named either a second- or third-team All-American by the sport’s major media outlets.
It was quite an impressive final season for the 7-foot-1 center from St. Louis.
In case you need a refresher on Kalkbrenner’s historic achievements at Creighton:
- He ranks second in Bluejay history in points (2,443), rebounds (1,146), blocked shots (399) and field goal percentage (.658).
- He was four-time BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year. Only Patrick Ewing has done that.
- He had a 49-point performance in Creighton’s first game of the 2024-25 season, finishing just two points off the program’s single-game record.
- The Jays won 118 games that Kalkbrenner played in. He’s the winningest Bluejay player of all time.
Stars on the big stage
In conjunction with Final Four festivities in San Antonio, Steven Ashworth and Jamiya Neal were showing off their skills.
Ashworth finished fourth in the men’s 3-point shooting contest, an annual event nationally televised on ESPN. He joins Kyle Korver in 2003 and Alex O'Connell in 2022 as the three former Jays who’ve reached the semifinals in the contest. (On the women’s side, Lauren Jensen participated in the 3-point contest as well.)
Then, Ashworth and Neal took part in the Division I College All-Star Game. Neal filled the stat sheet with eight points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals. Ashworth made three 3-pointers and dished out two assists.
Who’s in, who’s out
Creighton’s assembled one of the nation’s best transfer classes to help replace the production of Kalkbrenner, Ashworth and Neal and keep this recent run of success going.
Who’s in:
- Josh Dix | 6-6 | Guard | Senior
The Council Bluffs, Iowa, native will play his final college season with the Jays. He scored 14.4 points per game for Iowa last year, making 42.2% of his 3-pointers and recording a 3.30 assist to turnover rate. - Owen Freeman | 6-10 | Forward | Junior
The Iowa transfer was the 2024 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. He averaged 16.7 points and 6.7 rebounds before an injury ended his sophomore season early. - Nik Graves | 6-3 | Guard | Senior
Graves averaged 17.5 points at Charlotte last season. He’ll play his final year of college ball with Creighton. - Austin Schwartz | 6-4 | Guard | Sophomore
Schwartz is a former four-star recruit who averaged 5.9 points per game at Miami last year. He transfers in with three years of eligibility remaining. - Blake Harper | 6-8 | Guard | Sophomore
The 2025 MEAC Player of the Year at Howard last season joins the Bluejays with three years of eligibility remaining. Harper averaged 19.5 points and 6.2 rebounds in his first collegiate season — he was also one of just two freshmen nationally to record a triple-double. - Hudson Greer | 6-6 | Guard | Freshman
Greer’s not a transfer but he’s definitely worth mentioning. He’s a four-star prospect originally from Texas. - Aleksa Dimitrijevic | 7-1 | Center | Freshman
Dimitrijevic isn't a transfer, either. He comes to Creighton from Serbia. Illinois and Michigan were also recruiting the talented international prospect.
Who else is returning:
- Guards: *Fedor Žugić, Ty Davis and Shane Thomas
- Forwards: Jasen Green, Jackson McAndrew, Josh Townley-Thomas and Isaac Traudt
Who’s out:
- Pop Isaacs, Mason Miller and Fredrick King all transferred out.
Miller and King will join former Creighton assistant Ryan Miller, who became Murray State’s head coach in March. Isaacs is headed to Houston.
*There is some uncertainty regarding the eligibility of Žugić for next season, McDermott said during an offseason interview.
