Fletcher Loyer

Fletcher Loyer
No. 2 – Purdue Boilermakers
PositionShooting guard
LeagueBig Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (2003-09-01) September 1, 2003 (age 21)
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school
CollegePurdue (2022–present)

Fletcher Joseph Loyer (born September 1, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the Purdue Boilermakers of the Big Ten Conference.

He played high school basketball in Michigan at Clarkston High School for his freshman and sophomore seasons. Then, he attended Homestead High School in Indiana for his junior and senior seasons. As a senior, he was the 2022 Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year award winner and the 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball runner-up.

Loyer is the son of basketball coach and scout John Loyer and brother of Foster Loyer, the 2018 Mr. Basketball of Michigan.

Early life and high school career

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Loyer was born September 1, 2003, to John and Kate Loyer.[1] His father played basketball at the University of Akron.[2] His mother played volleyball at Indiana University,[2] and she was an assistant coach for Purdue University volleyball.[3] His grandfather, Al McFarland, played for Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball in 1964.[3] The Loyer family moved for John's National Basketball Association career with the Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets and Detroit Pistons.[4] Loyer was an assistant coach for the Portland (2003–05), Philadelphia (2005–09) and New Jersey (2009–11) before taking on the same role with Detroit in 2011. He served as Pistons interim head coach for 32 games for the 2013–14 Pistons. He later joined the Los Angeles Clippers as a scout in 2016.[2]

Clarkston years (2018–2020)

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Loyer initially attended Clarkston High School in Clarkston, Michigan.[5] As a freshman he was a 2019 Detroit Free Press Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) Division I all-state honorable mention selection.[6] Loyer averaged 22 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.1 assists per game during his sophomore season.[7] He was a 2020 The Detroit News MHSAA Division I all-state first team selection.[8] Clarkston was 21–1 with a 20-game winning streak when COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns shutdown the season.[9] By May 2020, he had scholarship offers from Toledo, Detroit Mercy and Denver. On May 30, 2020, he received his first high major offer from Michigan.[10] By July 1, he also had offers from Purdue and Nebraska.[11]

Homestead years (2020–2022)

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Loyer's mother, Kate, is from Indiana (she had been a student-athlete at McCutcheon High School).[12][1] Loyer's had relatives in the Fort Wayne area, including many cousins and an aunt who was a volleyball coach at Concordia Lutheran High School. His family moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana after his sophomore year and by July 3, 2020, he enrolled at Homestead High School,[13] At Homestead, which had won the 2015 Indiana Class 4A state championship, he would join a team with class of 2021 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball recruit, shooting guard Luke Goode.[13] Loyer switched from shooting guard to point guard when he moved.[9] On November 23, 2020, Loyer committed to Purdue over a field of offers that included Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Notre Dame and Utah.[14][15] At the time, he was rated a three-star recruit and ranked 140th in the National class of 2022.[16] He was later rated a four-star recruit.[17] On December 29, 2020, Loyer posted a Homestead High School single-game scoring record with 50 points against Marion High School.[18][19] After winning their first 25 games, top-ranked Homestead lost 60–49 in the regional semifinals to Carmel High School, the number 2 ranked team in the state, on March 13, 2021. Loyer had a game high 26 points.[20] He averaged 24.4 points, 4.5 assists, and 4.9 rebounds per game during his junior season.[21]

Although Loyer's Homestead team in Indiana was upset in March, he was able to play a full season during his junior year. In Michigan, almost the whole season was lost. Indoor winter sports were suspended on November 18, 2020.[22] Indoor contact winter high school sports' (basketball, wrestling, hockey, and competitive cheer) season were suspended until at least February 21, 2021, due to the pandemic.[9][23]

On March 12, 2022, future Purdue teammate Braden Smith led his Westfield High School team to a 64–53 victory over Loyer and Homestead in the Indiana state Class 4A Regional matchup. Although Loyer posted 27 points and surpassed former Boilermaker, Caleb Swanigan for the school's single-season scoring record (726 points versus 702 points),[24][25] it was not enough to overcome Smith's 13-point, 8-rebound, 6-assist, 3-steal, and 2-block effort.[26] On March 16, Loyer was named the Indiana boys' basketball Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior after averaging 26.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.6 assists per game.[27][28][29] After totalling 803 points in two season in Michigan, he totaled 1360 points in his two years at Homestead to finish with 2,163 points in his high school career.[30] On March 29, Loyer won the national 3-point contest as part of the 2022 High School Slam Dunk and 3-Point Championships over Kyle Filipowski and Austin Montgomery.[31] On April 2, Loyer was runner up for Indiana Mr. Basketball to Smith by a 128–109 vote.[32] On April 4, he was one of 14 players selected to the 2022 Indiana All-Stars boys team, but declined the award.[33]

College career

[edit]

Freshman season

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Loyer entered his freshman season at Purdue as a starter at guard.[34] On November 28, 2022, Loyer was recognized as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week for averaging 12.3 points, 2.0 assists and 1.7 rebounds in three victories, including two over a pair of top-ten ranked opponents (14 points against No. 6 Gonzaga and 18 against No. 8/10 Duke),[35][36] during Purdue's 2022 Phil Knight Invitational title run.[37] The following day, CBSSports.com recognized Loyer as the first CBS Sports/USBWA National Freshman of the Week of the season.[38] On December 5, he was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week when he averaged 15.5 points and 6.0 assists with no turnovers in another pair of wins. His career-high 20 points and eight rebounds against Minnesota was the first 20/8 performance by a Purdue freshman since Bruce Parkinson on March 10, 1973.[39][40] When Purdue faced his brother's Davidson team on December 17, they won 69–61, and Fletcher outscored his brother 14–11.[41] On January 5, he posted 11 second half points, including the game-winning go-ahead three point shot with 11 seconds remaining against Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.[42][43]

On January 17, 2023, Loyer was recognized as both a Co-Big Ten Player of the Week and the Big Ten Freshman of the Week after he scored 27 points and established a Purdue Boilermaker freshman single-game three point shots made record with 6 with against Nebraska on January 13.[44][45][46] Purdue won the 2022–23 Big Ten Conference men's basketball regular season championship (the school's 25th) as well as the 2023 Big Ten men's basketball tournament.[47][48] Following the regular season, Loyer was selected by both the coaches and the media as an honorable mention All-Big ten selection.[49] #1-seeded Purdue lost to 23.5 point underdog Fairleigh Dickinson in its 2023 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament first round game in Columbus, the biggest upset in tournament history.[50] Loyer, who scored Purdue's final 8 points,[51] and who was part of a freshman backcourt (with Smith) that had 10 turnovers,[52] missed a game-tying three point shot with 12.3 seconds left when he was pinned in the corner.[53] The freshman backcourt pair of Smith and Loyer each started a school freshman record 35 games and finished the season as Purdue's 2nd highest scoring freshman duo (Loyer 384/Smith 340, 724 total) behind Robbie Hummel and E'Twaun Moore (813, 2008).[54]

Sophomore season

[edit]

On November 21, against #7-ranked Tennessee in the 2023 Maui Invitational semifinal, Loyer tied his career-high with 27 points and added a career best 6 rebounds.[55][56] He earned honorable mention All-Big Ten recognition by both the coaches and the media again as a sophomore.[57] Loyer helped Purdue seal a 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Sweet Sixteen appearance with 15 points and a season-high 6 assists against Utah State on March 24.[58][59] In the March 29 Sweet Sixteen round against Gonzaga, when he tallied 10 points, Loyer brought his March three-point shooting percentage to 68.2% (15/22).[60] Loyer contributed 14 points in the Elite Eight regional championship round against Tennessee and 11 (3–5 on three-point shots) in the final four round against NC State to help Purdue reach the national championship game.[61][62]

Career statistics

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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

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2022–23 Purdue 35 35 28.9 .367 .326 .794 1.7 2.4 .6 .1 11.0
2023–24 Purdue 39 39 27.8 .416 .444 .861 2.1 1.9 .8 .0 10.3
Career 74 74 28.3 .390 .403 .828 1.9 2.2 .7 .0 10.6

Personal life

[edit]

Loyer's older brother, Foster, was Mr. Basketball of Michigan and played at Davidson after beginning his career at Michigan State.[63] The Loyer family also has a daughter, Jersey, Fletcher's sister.[64][2] Jersey is a high school class of 2024 volleyball player at Concordia High School.[65]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "2 Fletcher Loyer". Purdue Boilermakers. Archived from the original on March 10, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Morgan, Blake (January 10, 2019). "Foster Loyer: 6 things to know about the Michigan State guard". Lansing State Journal. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Carmin, Mike (November 23, 2020). "Purdue basketball lands 2022 prospect Fletcher Loyer". Lafayette Journal & Courier. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  4. ^ McCabe, Mick (March 19, 2018). "Michigan Mr. Basketball: Clarkston's Foster Loyer wins in runaway vote". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on March 13, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  5. ^ Goricki, David (December 14, 2018). "Friday's preps: Fletcher Loyer excels in Clarkston's win over Wayne". Detroit News. Archived from the original on October 21, 2021. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  6. ^ McCabe, Mick and Dana Sulonen (April 14, 2019). "Meet the Detroit Free Press 2018–19 All-State basketball teams". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  7. ^ "Purdue basketball lands 2022 prospect Fletcher Loyer". Journal & Courier. November 23, 2020. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  8. ^ Goricki, David (April 9, 2020). "2019–20 Detroit News Dream Team, All-State boys basketball teams". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c Goricki, David (February 2, 2021). "Fletcher Loyer thrives in Indiana as old school stays idle amid Michigan sports shutdown". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  10. ^ Purcell, Jared (May 30, 2023). "Fletcher Loyer, younger brother of MSU's Foster Loyer, is offered by Michigan". Mlive.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  11. ^ Goricki, David (July 1, 2021). "Clarkston star Fletcher Loyer moving to Indiana with Michigan offer". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  12. ^ MediaNews Group (July 3, 2020). "No Loyers in Clarkston; family moved to Indiana". The Oakland Press. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  13. ^ a b Purcell, Jared (July 7, 2020). "Michigan basketball target Fletcher Loyer talks transfer from Clarkston to Homestead in Indiana". MLive.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  14. ^ "Ex-Clarkston standout Fletcher Loyer picks Purdue over Michigan, others". The Detroit News. November 23, 2020. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  15. ^ Carmin, Mike (November 23, 2020). "Purdue basketball lands 2022 prospect Fletcher Loyer". Lafayette Journal & Courier. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  16. ^ Purcell, Jared (November 23, 2020). "Former Clarkston standout Fletcher Loyer, brother of MSU player, commits to Purdue over Michigan". MLive.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
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  18. ^ McCammon, Michael. "Purdue commit Fletcher Loyer drops 50 to set school record". December 30, 2020. 247Sports. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  19. ^ Neubert, Brian (January 2021). "Purdue commitment Fletcher Loyer went for 50 vs. Marion". January 1, 2021. Rivals.com. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  20. ^ Neddenriep, Kyle (March 13, 2021). "No. 2 Carmel gets best of No. 1 Homestead, ends Spartans' undefeated season in regional". Detroit Free Press. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  21. ^ "Purdue recruits Fletcher Loyer, Braden Smith Mr. Basketball candidates". Indianapolis Star. December 14, 2021. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  22. ^ "MHSAA rolls out revised calendar for Michigan winter sports". The Detroit News. December 23, 2020. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  23. ^ Calloway, Brian (January 22, 2021). "MHSAA has new questions as winter contact high school sports remain on hold". Lansing State Journal. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  24. ^ Prince, Justin (March 16, 2022). "Homestead's Loyer named Gatorade Indiana Boys Basketball Player of the Year". WFFT. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  25. ^ BoilerTMill (March 6, 2021). "2021 Indiana High School Basketball State Tournament: Sectional Championship Scores". SB Nation. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
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  28. ^ Fezler, D.J. (March 16, 2022). "Purdue Basketball Signee Fletcher Loyer Named Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  29. ^ "2021 – 2022 Indiana Boys Basketball Player of the Year". Gatorade. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  30. ^ "Loyer Selected for High School 3-Point Championship". Purdue Boilermakers. March 24, 2022. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  31. ^ Fezler, D.J. (March 29, 2022). "Purdue Basketball Signee Fletcher Loyer Wins National High School 3-Point Contest". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  32. ^ BoilerTMill (April 2, 2022). "Braden Smith Named Indiana Mr. Basketball". SB Nation. Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
  33. ^ Neddenriep, Kyle (April 4, 2022). "Indiana high school basketball: Meet 2022 Indiana All-Stars boys team". Indianapolis Star. Archived from the original on February 5, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  34. ^ Carmin, Mike (November 10, 2022). "Purdue basketball: Fletcher Loyer 'can get hot quick' giving Boilermakers instant offense". Journal & Courier. Archived from the original on August 24, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  35. ^ "Zach Edey scores 23, No. 24 Purdue tops No. 6 Gonzaga 84–66". ESPN. Associated Press. November 26, 2022. Archived from the original on May 21, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  36. ^ "Edey scores 21 as No. 24 Purdue beats No. 8 Duke 75–56". ESPN. Associated Press. November 27, 2022. Archived from the original on May 16, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  37. ^ "Purdue Sweeps Weekly Men's Basketball Accolades: Edey and Loyer named to Big Ten weekly honors list". BigTen.org. November 28, 2022. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  38. ^ Boone, Kyle (November 29, 2022). "Ranking college basketball's best freshmen: Purdue's Fletcher Loyer earns Freshman of the Week honors". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  39. ^ "Purdue and Iowa Score Weekly Men's Basketball Accolades: Murray Joins Edey and Loyer as Big Ten weekly honorees". BigTen.org. December 5, 2022. Archived from the original on December 6, 2022. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  40. ^ "Edey's 31 points, 22 boards lead No. 5 Purdue past Minnesota". ESPN. Associated Press. December 4, 2022. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  41. ^ "Edey has 29 points, 16 rebounds; No. 1 Purdue beats Davidson". CBS Sports. Associated Press. December 17, 2022. Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  42. ^ "Loyer's 3 lifts No. 1 Purdue 71–69 over No. 24 Ohio State". CBS Sports. Associated Press. January 5, 2023. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  43. ^ Jardy, Adam (January 5, 2023). "Fletcher Loyer's 3-pointer in the final seconds leads Purdue past Ohio State". Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on January 6, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  44. ^ "Rutgers, Purdue Score Men's Basketball Weekly Accolades". BigTen.org. January 17, 2023. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
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  46. ^ "No. 3 Purdue uses 3-point flurry to take down Nebraska 73–55". CBS Sports. Associated Press. January 14, 2023. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
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  48. ^ "Purdue Clinches Share of Big Ten Men's Basketball Title". BigTen.org. February 26, 2023. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  49. ^ "2023 Big Ten Men's Basketball Postseason Honors Announced". BigTen.org. March 7, 2023. Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  50. ^ Patterson, Chip (March 17, 2023). "Why 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson over 1-seed Purdue is the biggest upset in NCAA Tournament history". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  51. ^ "16 Fairleigh Dickinson Knights 21–15 63: 58 1 Purdue Boilermakers 29–6 (play-by-play)". ESPN. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  52. ^ Lopresti, Mike (March 17, 2023). "How FDU gave Purdue another New Jersey nightmare — and more March heartbreak". NCAA.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  53. ^ King, Sam (March 17, 2023). "Purdue basketball falls on wrong side of history with loss to 16-seed FDU". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  54. ^ "Purdue Boilermakers: 2022–23 Boilerball Game Notes: Game 35 // Fairleigh Dickinson Or Texas Southern // NCAA Tournament First Round // March 17, 2023" (PDF). Purdue Boilermakers. March 14, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  55. ^ "Loyer scores 27, Purdue pulls away late to beat Tennessee 71-67 in Maui Invitational". ESPN. Associated Press. November 22, 2023. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  56. ^ "#2 PURDUE OUTLASTS #7 TENNESSEE IN MAUI INVITE SEMIFINAL". Purduesports.com. Purdue Boilermakers. November 21, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2023.
  57. ^ "Big Ten Announces 2024 Men's Basketball Postseason Honors". Big Ten Conference. March 12, 2024. Archived from the original on March 12, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  58. ^ "Zach Edey and No. 1 seed Purdue roll into Sweet 16 with runaway win against Utah State". ESPN. Associated Press. March 24, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  59. ^ "1-SEED PURDUE WITH A STATEMENT WIN OVER UTAH STATE TO ADVANCE TO SWEET 16". Purdue Boilermakers. March 24, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  60. ^ "TOP-SEEDED PURDUE ROLLS PAST GONZAGA FOR SPOT IN ELITE EIGHT". Purdue Boilermakers. March 29, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  61. ^ "NO. 1 SEED PURDUE TOPS TENNESSEE FOR FIRST FINAL FOUR IN 44 YEARS". Purdue Boilermakers. March 31, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  62. ^ "PURDUE ADVANCES TO NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME, DOWNS NORTH CAROLINA STATE". Purdue Boilermakers. April 6, 2024. Retrieved April 28, 2024.
  63. ^ Purcell, Jared (January 15, 2020). "Fletcher Loyer, younger brother of MSU's Foster Loyer, can 'shoot the crap out of the ball'". MLive.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2023. Retrieved January 16, 2022.
  64. ^ Reardon, Wendi (July 15, 2020). "Loyer family uprooting, moving to Indiana". Clarkston News. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  65. ^ Jacobsen, Victoria (December 25, 2022). "Concordia's Jersey Loyer is the 2022 Glass Spike Award Winner". The Journal Gazette. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
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