Kessler Edwards Career Statistics
CAREER: Turned pro after his junior season and was picked by the Brooklyn Nets in the second round (44th overall) of the 2021 NBA Draft ... Ended career ranked 30th all-time in scoring at Pepperdine with 1,247 points after three seasons ... Also ranked fifth in blocked shots (127), seventh in free throw percentage (78.8%) and eighth in three-pointers made (148) ... Averaged 13.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 32.0 minutes ... Appeared in 93 games and made 85 starts.
PEPPERDINE 2020-21: Made the NABC All-District second team and All-WCC first team as a junior ... Averaged 17.2 points and team bests of 6.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks ... Started 26 of 27 games and averaged 33.9 minutes ... Led the team with 45 three-pointers and a 37.8% success rate ... Shot 87.6% from the free throw line ... In the WCC, ranked second in blocks, second in free throw percentage, fourth in minutes, seventh in scoring, seventh in rebounding, seventh in field goal percentage and tied for ninth in three-pointers per game ... Named the College Basketball Invitational MVP after helping the Waves to the championship and averaging 19.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks ... Led the team in 24 double-figure scoring games and five double-doubles ... Had 10 20-point games ... Had season highs of 37 points, six three-pointers and 11 rebounds vs. Pacific (1/21), which led to WCC Player of the Week honors on Jan. 25 ... Had a streak of four 20-point games in the postseason, with 21 against Santa Clara in the WCC quarterfinals (3/6), 20 against BYU in the WCC semifinals (3/8), 22 against Longwood in the CBI quarterfinals (3/22) and 28 against Bellarmine in the CBI semifinals (3/23) ... Went 10-for-10 from the free throw line vs. LMU (2/25) ... Other season highs were five assists vs. BYU (3/8), five blocks vs. Bellarmine (3/23), three steals (three times) and 40 minutes (three times).
PEPPERDINE 2019-20: Earned All-WCC second team honors as a sophomore ... Led the WCC in blocked shots (1.9) and finished 13th in scoring (13.8) and fourth in rebounding (7.5) ... Was also fourth in free throw percentage (75.4%) and seventh in minutes played (33.2) ... One of two Waves to start all 32 games ... His 60 blocked shots tied for seventh on Pepperdine’s single-season list ... Scored in double-figures 24 times, with six 20-point games and a season-high 30 points vs. Central Arkansas (12/14) ... Had nine double-doubles, including a 22-point, season-high 15-rebound effort at CSUN (11/12) ... Blocked at least one shot in all but three games, and had multiple blocks 19 times, with a season-high six at San Francisco (2/22) ... Ended the season on a streak of 10 consecutive games with multiple blocked shots, tying a school record ... Had 15 games with multiple three-pointers, including a season-high five vs. BYU (2/29) ... Other season highs were five assists vs. Portland (1/25), three steals (12/17 vs. Portland State) and 50 minutes played (3/7 vs. Saint Mary’s).
PEPPERDINE 2018-19: An impressive debut season saw him earn WCC All-Freshman team status ... Averaged 10.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks in 29.4 minutes ... Led all conference freshmen in rebounding (14th overall) and was second in scoring and tied for third in blocks (tied for seventh overall) ... Played in all 34 games and started 27 ... In WCC games only, tied for first in the league with 1.6 steals ... Played 1,001 minutes, second-most ever by a Pepperdine freshman ... His 34 blocks and 1.0 blocks per game both rank third on Pepperdine’s freshman records list ... Recorded three double-doubles: 13 points and 11 rebounds at Santa Clara (1/10), 15 points and 10 rebounds vs. San Diego (2/9) and 15 points and 11 rebounds vs. Portland (2/23) ... Scored in double-figures 17 times, with a season-high 19 points vs. Abilene Christian (12/1) ... Grabbed double-digit rebounds six times, with a season-high 13 vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills (11/7) ... Made 50 three-pointers, with multiple threes in a game 14 times, including five vs. Abilene Christian ... Set a Pepperdine freshman record with six steals at Gonzaga (2/21) ... Scored the game-winning basket with 2.5 seconds left vs. San Diego (2/9) ... Other season highs were five assists at San Francisco (2/14), four blocks at Northern Colorado (11/13) and 38 minutes (twice).
USA BASKETBALL: Took part in a U19 training camp in June 2019 that served as a tryout for the U.S. FIBA World Cup squad.
HIGH SCHOOL: Graduated from Etiwanda (Calif.) High School in 2018 ... Excelled as a senior, earning spots on the Cal-Hi Sports All-State Open Division/D1 first team and the All-CIF Southern Section Open Division first team ... Named the Baseline League MVP ... Also made the Los Angeles Times All-Star team, the Daily Bulletin All-Area team and the Burlison on Basketball All-Southern California first team ... Averaged 21.3 points and 7.3 rebounds as a senior and led Etiwanda to a 30-4 record and to the Southern California Open Division regional final ... As a junior, he averaged 17 points and nine rebounds and was named to the Burlison on Basketball Southern California All-Junior second team, the Daily Bulletin’s All-Area first team and the All-Baseline League first team ... Made the All-Baseline League second team after averaging 11 points as a sophomore ... Played varsity as a freshman, when older brother Kameron was a senior ... ESPN gave him a rating of 75 and three stars ... Named the Baseline League’s Outstanding Senior Student-Athlete.
CLUB: Played with Prodigy Elite.
PERSONAL: Majoring in interpersonal communication ... Born in Glendale, Calif. ... Son of Fred and Ada Edwards ... Has two brothers, Kyle and Kameron ... Kameron was a teammate for two seasons at Pepperdine ... Chose to attend Pepperdine because “I was very familiar with the school and team, it was close to home, it’s a top 50 academic school and the chance to play with my older brother.”
FAVORITES: Enjoys playing video games ... Favorites include Anthony Davis (pro basketball player) ... The Lightning Thief (book), Creed (movie), chicken wings (food) and boxing (sport other than basketball) ... Favorite things about basketball are “winning games as a family, and getting better every day at something while having fun.”
