Max Klesmit

Max Klesmit
Klesmit in 2024
No. 11 – Wisconsin Badgers
PositionShooting guard
LeagueBig Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (2002-06-09) June 9, 2002 (age 22)
Neenah, Wisconsin, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High schoolNeenah (Neenah, Wisconsin)
College
Career highlights and awards
  • Third-team All-SoCon (2022)
  • SoCon All-Freshman team - Media (2021)

Max Klesmit (born June 9, 2002) is an American college basketball player for the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference.

Early life and high school career

Klesmit was born and raised in Neenah, Wisconsin and played at Neenah High School. Klesmit was nominated for USA Today Network Player of the Year as a junior after leading the Fox Valley Association conference in points per game (25.5) and assists (4.8). During his senior season, he helped lead the Rockets to a 23–2 record and reached the sectional final. He led the team scoring 25.5 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game his senior season. Klesmit was named to the Wisconsin All-State teams following his sophomore, junior and senior seasons.[1]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Max Klesmit
SG 		Neenah, WI Neenah High School (WI) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Aug 4, 2019 
Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 21, 2024.

College career

Wofford

After not being highly recruited and mostly receiving Division II offers, Klesmit did receive a few Division I offers from UW–Green Bay, UW–Milwaukee, North Dakota and Wofford.[2][3]

Freshman season

Klesmit appeared in 19 games with two starts as a true freshman at Wofford College. He was named to the SoCon All–Freshman Team (media) after averaging 8.2 points and 2.7 rebounds in 22.7 minutes per game.[4] Max scored a season high 15 points in a loss to Chattanooga on February 10, 2021.[5]

Sophomore season

Klesmit started in all 31 games during his sophomore season at Wofford. He was named to the third team SoCon All–Conference after averaging 14.9 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals in 31.8 minutes per game.[6] Max scored a season high 27 points twice in a loss at South Carolina on February 23, 2021, and a victory against The Citadel on January 19, 2022.[7][8] Following the season, Klesmit entered the NCAA transfer portal.[9]

Wisconsin

Junior season

After announcing he was entering the transfer portal, Klesmit posted that his top 4 teams were Vanderbilt, Clemson, South Carolina and Colorado State. Despite not being in Klesmit's top 4, the Badgers were able to reengage the in-state product, and in the end, the hometown team won out.[10] Klesmit was able to fill a role after Wisconsin lost guards Brad Davison (graduated) and Johnny Davis was drafted in the first round of the 2022 NBA draft.[11] Klesmit was inserted into the starting lineup for day 1. During a game against Penn State, Klesmit took an inadvertent elbow to his face from Kanya Clary causing Max to get 16 stitches in his lip and cheek. He would be forced to miss the next two games.[12] Klesmit finished the season as the Badgers fifth leading scorer with 8.4 points per game and scored a season high of 19 points twice against Michigan and Purdue in back to back games.[13][14]

Senior season

Klesmit is known as the Badgers defensive leader. He is usually tasked with guarding opposing teams top scorers.[15] During parts of his second season with the Badgers, Max has been the go to player when the Badgers need to score. A perfect example of this is when Klesmit scored 20 consecutive points and put up a career high 26 points against Indiana in a 91–79 victory.[16]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Wofford 19 2 22.6 .466 .373 .846 2.7 1.2 1.3 0.0 8.2
2021–22 Wofford 31 31 30.9 .446 .340 .837 2.8 1.9 1.6 0.1 14.9
2022–23 Wisconsin 33 33 32.1 .423 .383 .696 2.7 1.4 1.2 0.2 8.4
2023–24 Wisconsin 36 36 28.7 .437 .398 .824 2.1 1.9 0.9 0.1 9.9
Career 119 102 29.5 .441 .371 .797 2.6 1.6 1.2 0.1 10.5

[17]

Personal life

Klesmit's parents are Rich and Kelly Klesmit. He has a younger brother, Cal, who plays college basketball at NCAA Division II Northern Michigan.[18] His younger sister, Rowan, plays high school basketball for Neenah Rockets.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Max Klesmit HS Stats". wissports.net. April 1, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "Max Klesmit Recruiting Profile". verbalcommits.com. August 13, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "Max Klesmit Rivals Profile". rivals.com. August 4, 2019. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  4. ^ "All-Southern Conference men's basketball teams announced". soconsports.com. March 3, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  5. ^ "Chattanooga vs. Wofford Box Score (Men), February 10, 2021". sports-reference.com. February 10, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  6. ^ "All-SoCon men's basketball teams announced". soconsports.com. March 2, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  7. ^ "Wofford vs. South Carolina Box Score (Men), November 23, 2021". sports-reference.com. November 23, 2021. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  8. ^ "The Citadel vs. Wofford Box Score (Men), January 19, 2022". sports-reference.com. January 19, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  9. ^ "A third Wofford player to transfer". wspa.com. March 23, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  10. ^ "Wisconsin basketball lands Wofford transfer Max Klesmit". si.com. April 30, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  11. ^ "Max Klesmit, an all-state guard at Neenah High School, explains why he is transferring to Wisconsin after two years at Wofford". jsonline.com. May 3, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  12. ^ "Lucas: What a Klesmit return would mean for the Badgers". January 27, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  13. ^ "Wisconsin vs. Michigan Box Score". February 26, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  14. ^ "Purdue vs Wisconsin Box Score". March 3, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "Wisconsin Knows it has a Defensive Leader in Max Klesmit". February 4, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  16. ^ "Max Klesmit's second-half flurry helps No. 11 Wisconsin beat Indiana 91-79". January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  17. ^ "Max Klesmit Statistics". ESPN. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  18. ^ "Cal Klesmit Northern Michigan Profile". nmuwildcats.com. January 21, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
  19. ^ "For Wisconsin guard Max Klesmit's parents, the excitement is in being there". badgerextra.com. March 4, 2023. Retrieved January 21, 2024.