Caleb Swanigan, Former Purdue Basketball Standout and NBA Player, Dies At 25
Caleb Swanigan, a former college basketball star at Purdue who went on to play in the NBA, has reportedly died. He was 25.
According to Fort Wayne, Ind., station WANE, the Allen County Coroner’s Office confirmed that Swanigan died from natural causes.
Homeless as a child, Swanigan was adopted and later earned his diploma in Educational History from Purdue. He also helped organize a fundraiser for homelessness and released music in 2019.
While at Purdue, the 6’9” played two seasons from 2015-2016 and made the Big Ten All-Freshman team in his first year and was Big Ten Conference Player of the Year in his second. That season he averaged 18.5 points, 12.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists, while helping Purdue go to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16, according to CBS Sports.
Swanigan was a first round draft pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2017 but hadn’t played in the NBA since late in the 2019-2020 season. He won Indiana’s Mr. Basketball honor after leading Homestead High School to its only state title in 2015 and later played at Purdue University prior to declaring for the NBA Draft.
Purdue Mens Basketball’s Twitter account relayed the news of Swanigan’s passing on Tuesday (June 21).
