Former Purdue Basketball Star, All-American Caleb Swanigan Dies at Age 25
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Caleb "Biggie" Swanigan, a former All-American for the Purdue basketball program and first-round NBA draft pick, had died. He was 25 years old.
“The Purdue basketball family is deeply saddened and devastated at the loss of Caleb Swanigan,” Purdue head coach Matt Painter said in a release. “Caleb was a very thoughtful individual and a gentle soul who excelled both on and off the court. He made a huge difference in everyone’s lives that he touched and he will be greatly missed.”
💔 Devastated.
— Purdue Men's Basketball (@BoilerBall) June 21, 2022
Our thoughts and prayers to Caleb Swanigan’s family and friends. The world lost a gentle soul last night.
Love you Biggie. pic.twitter.com/spU2hQtJdi
Swanigan, who was born in Indianapolis, came to West Lafayette after earning recognition as the 2015 Indiana Mr. Basketball during his senior season at Homestead High School. He played in two seasons for the Boilermakers, starting in all of his 69 games with the team.
Following the 2016-2017 season, Swanigan garnered consensus first-team All-American honors and was named the Big Ten Player of the Year. The star averaged 18.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game before electing to pursue the NBA Draft.
Swanigan would eventually be selected with the 26th pick in the first round of the 2017 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers, where he would appear in 45 games. He was traded to the Sacramento Kings in 2019, appearing in 10 games, before he was traded back to Portland.
WANE, a television station in Fort Wayne, Indiana, reported that Swanigan died of natural causes, which was confirmed by the Allen County Corner's Office.
Stories Related to Purdue Basketball
- BIG TEN ANNOUNCES CONFERENCE BASKETBALL MATCHUPS: The Big Ten announced the conference matchups ahead of the 2022-23 college basketball season. League teams will play 20 conference games with seven home-and-away series plus three additional single-play contests both at home and on the road. CLICK HERE
- UTAH TRANSFER GUARD DAVID JENKINS COMMITS: Purdue basketball earns a long-awaited commitment from a guard via the transfer portal. David Jenkins Jr., a graduate transfer, had averaged 14.9 points per game during his college career while shooting 41.3% from the 3-point line. CLICK HERE
- ERIC HUNTER JR. TRANSFERS TO BUTLER: After four seasons with the Purdue basketball program, Eric Hunter Jr. announced his decision to transfer to Butler for his final year of college eligibility. The Indianapolis native averaged 6.2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game for the Boilermakers last season. CLICK HERE
- ISAIAH THOMPSON TRANSFERS TO FLORIDA GULF COAST: Purdue transfer guard Isaiah Thompson is headed to Florida Gulf Coast after three seasons with the program. The Zionsville, Indiana, native averaged 4.2 points, 1.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game during the 2021-22 season. CLICK HERE
You Can Follow D.J. Fezler on Twitter at @DJFezler
D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.