Fort Hays State University’s Kaleb Hammeke. (Photo courtesy of FHSU Sports Information).
By John Mesh
Kaleb Hammeke of Fort Hays State was named the MIAA Men’s Basketball Athlete of the Week on Monday for his efforts over the past couple of weeks.
This week’s honor combined games from the two weeks prior to the holiday break.
Hammeke, a 6-foot, 180-pound graduate student/senior guard from Hutchinson Trinity Catholic High School, helped the Tigers to a 4-0 record over that span and a team milestone, while also reaching an individual milestone.
Hammeke helped FHSU enter the holiday break on a four-game win streak by averaging 16.3 points, 5.8 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game over a four-game stretch.
He led the Tigers in scoring in three of the four games, which included a season-high 24 points in the 18-point win over Regis on Dec. 22.
He tied his career high for assists with nine in the 66-50 win over nationally ranked MSU Denver.
He scored the final 7 points for FHSU in its win over William Jewell on the road in a matchup of teams that both made the NCAA Tournament last year.
Over the four-game span, Hammeke shot 51.1% from the field, scored in double figures all four games, hit 57.1% (8-of-14) of his 3-point field goal attempts, and had at least three assists in all four games.
In the win over nationally ranked MSU Denver, Hammeke helped the Tigers reach 1,700 wins as a program.
FHSU is only the sixth NCAA Division II program to reach the 1,700 wins mark in its men’s basketball history.
By scoring 15 points in the game, Hammeke went past the 1,700 points mark for his career, becoming only the second Tiger to reach the milestone joining Alonzo Goldston.
Hammeke now sits just 40 points shy of Goldston’s school record 1,766 points, currently with 1,726. He is also just five assists shy of 500 for his career.
After his senior season at Trinity Catholic, Hammeke was a two-time all-state selection in basketball, including first team honors as a senior in 2018-19.
Hammeke was named to the Hutchinson News All-Area First Team, while earning the distinction of Hutchinson News Player of the Year.
He averaged 17.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.8 steals per game as a senior in 2018-19.
Hammeke scored 1,371 points in his prep career, second most in Trinity Catholic High School history behind his brother Lucas Hammeke, who scored more than 2,000 points.
Lucas Hammeke, a 6-foot, 175-pound junior, also plays for the Fort Hays State Tigers.