Zach Edey won’t be attending Purdue again in 2024–2025: A championship game completes an incredible college career.
Edey will not utilize the COVID additional season that is offered to him.
The career of Zach Edey is over. The two-time Naismith Player of the Year’s final game will be played after an incredible run through the NCAA Tournament that culminated in a 37-point performance in Purdue’s 75-60 loss to UConn.
The Purdue star, who led all Division I players in the nation in points and rebounds this season, will not return in 2024–25 using the extra year of eligibility he received from COVID, Boilermakers coach Matt Painter informed CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein in February.
Last season, Edey was named national player of the year after dominating college basketball with an average of 22.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game for a Purdue team that went on to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
He was even more impressive this season, and Purdue as a team was more cohesive; the Boilermakers finished 34-5 and advanced to their first Final Four since 1969.
Ralph Sampson of Virginia, who took home the Naismith Award in 1981, 1982, and 1983, was the last player to win the award twice. Bill Walton was the only other player to win it three times in a row while attending UCLA in 1972, 1973, and 1974.
A season that concluded with the second-most wins ever (29) for the program in a single season was marred by Edey and the Boilermakers’ shocking loss to a No. 16 seed in the NCAA Tournament last postseason. Purdue, who currently has 15-2 odds to win the championship, is third-best in the betting market behind UConn and Houston. Purdue is once again expected to repeat as Big Ten champions and could exact revenge on its early March Madness exit next month.
