Wichita State Athletics

2024-25 (Senior):
Set the single season record for dunks (62) and field goal percentage (75.1%) at Wichita State... Set career records in blocks per game (1.97) and field goal percentage (72.8%)... His 152 career blocks and 123 dunks were second most in program history... Set career highs in points (10.0), rebounds (9.2) and double-doubles (10)... Posted 18 games with 10 or more points... Started all 33 games, missing one due to illness... Named to the Fall Athletic Director's Honor Roll... Produced a 19-point, 15-rebound double-double in the first round of the NIT at Oklahoma State (March 18)... Blocked five shots and grabbed 12 rebounds in the AAC second round win over South Florida (March 13)... Notched his 9th double-double behind 10 points and 14 rebounds vs. UAB (Feb. 27)... Casual 11-point, 9-rebound performance vs. Tulane (Feb. 23)... Game-high 12 rebounds in a win at FAU (Feb. 20)... Team-high 19 points in a win over #14 Memphis (Feb. 16) to go with 7 rebounds and 4 blocks... Seven of his 12 rebounds at USF (Feb. 9) came on the offensive end to go with 12 points... Seventh double-double came at Charlotte (Feb. 4) behind 12 points and 13 rebounds... Season-high 6 blocked shots to go with 13 rebounds and 8 points vs. North Texas (Jan. 29)... Collected his fifth double-double behind 11 points and 10 rebounds vs. East Carolina (Jan. 18)... Career-high 22 points on 11-of-12 shooting at UTSA (Jan. 11)... Third straight double-double came in the conference opener at Temple (Jan. 3) behind 12 points and 13 rebounds... Second straight double-double behind 17 points and a career-high 16 rebounds vs. Friends (Dec. 29)... Picked up his second double-double behind 10 points and 10 rebounds vs. K-State (Dec. 21)... Recorded his second game with 10 or more rebounds vs. Kansas City (Dec. 17), finishing with a game-high 11... First double-double of the season came against Alcorn State (Dec. 4) behind 14 points and a career-high 14 rebounds... Returned to the lineup vs. Saint Louis (Nov. 22) and finished with 8 points and 7 rebounds in 16 minutes... Missed the Monmouth game with a sprained ankle... Tallied 13 points, 6 rebounds and 4 blocks in the home opener vs. Montana State (Nov. 9).

2023-24 (Junior):
American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team... Started all 34 games for Wichita State, averaging 7.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game... His 74 blocked shots were the second most in a single season at Wichita State... Shattered the school record for field goal percentage in a single season at 71.9%... Finished with 58 dunks, the most in a single season... Had two double-doubles and 12 games with 10 or more points... Named to the Fall Athletic Director's Honor Roll... Season-high 12 rebounds in the AAC quarterfinals vs. UAB (March 15)... Was a perfect 5-for-5 with 10 points and 6 rebounds vs. Rice in the first round of the AAC Championship... Recorded his second double-double at Tulane (Mar. 8) with 13 points and a career-high 11 rebounds... Scored 11 points behind four dunks at Charlotte (Feb. 18)... Finished with 11 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks vs. UTSA (Feb. 7)... Tied a career high with seven blocks vs. East Carolina (Jan. 24)... Set career highs in points (18), field goals made (8) and field goal attempts (10) at #23 Florida Atlantic (Jan. 18)... Added 11 points and 7 rebounds vs. North Texas (Jan. 4)... Second straight game in double figures with 10 points vs. #2 Kansas (Dec. 30)... Tied a then career high with 13 points vs. K-State (Dec. 21) to go with 7 rebounds... Scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards vs. Richmond (Nov. 29)... Registered a career-high seven blocks to go with 13 points vs. Norfolk State (Nov. 25)... Grabbed 10 rebounds for the third straight game and swatted three shots vs. Friends (Nov. 12)... Blocked four shots and grabbed 10 rebounds vs. WKU (Nov. 9)... Made his first career start and notched his first career double-double vs. Lipscomb (Nov. 6).

2022-23 (Sophomore):
American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team... Named to the Spring Athletic Director's Honor Roll... Appeared in nine of the first 11 games but missed the final 17 due to a lingering back injury... Totaled 21 points, 21 rebounds in 101 minutes... ... Did not clock enough minutes to qualify for KenPom rankings but would have otherwise led the nation in block percentage. He swatted 15.8% of enemy field goal attempts while he was on the floor... Averaged an eye-popping 5.5 blocks-per-40-minutes... Had as many total blocks (14) as field goal attempts (14) but converted 50% of his looks... Made his Shocker debut against Central Arkansas (Nov. 7) and finished with season-highs for points (10), field goals (4-of-5) and rebounds (5) in 12 minutes of action... Played a career-high 21 minutes at Kansas State (Dec. 3) and hit a game-tying free throw with just over 2:00 remaining as part of a 4-of-6 performance from the foul line... Did not attempt a shot in 18 minutes against Longwood (Dec. 10) but swatted five on the opposite end... Matched his personal-best with five rebounds against Oklahoma State at INTRUST Bank Arena (Dec. 17)... Missed the next three games while battling a back injury... Returned for a three-minute cameo against Cincinnati (Jan. 5) before shutting it down for the remainder of the season.
 
At Florida State (2020-22):
Logged 36 games over two seasons at FSU as part of a deep Seminole front court that included three other 7-footers… Was productive in limited playing time, shooting 70.8% from the field and averaging 4.6 blocks-per-40-minutes… Career totals included 38 points, 33 rebounds and 17 blocks over 147 minutes… Helped FSU to the 2021 Sweet 16 as a true freshman… Set career-highs with eight points, four rebounds and three blocks in 11 minutes at Miami on Feb. 24, 2021.
 
High School/Prep School:
Played his senior season (2018-10) plus another post-graduate year (2019-20) at Quality Education Academy in Winston-Salem, N.C… Ranked 336^th among 2020 prospects… Signed with FSU in April, 2020 over Syracuse, Cincinnati, NC State and Maryland… Averaged 14.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 6.0 blocks in his final year… Prior to that played a season at Henninger High School in Syracuse, N.Y. and helped the Black Knights reach the sectional round of the state playoffs… Played for Gym Ratz AAU on the summer circuit… Participated in the Super 70 Showdown in Raleigh, N.C. following his senior season.
 
Personal:
Born July 28, 2001… Son of Regina and Luevell Ballard… Credits his mother for helping motivate him to improve his game throughout high school… Hobbies include drawing, editing videos and spending time with family and friends… Has an older brother, Kay’ron, and a younger brother, Jordan… Committed to WSU over his hometown school, Syracuse, on Apr. 16, 2022… Chose WSU because of its reputation as a basketball school because it offered him the best opportunity to play and improve.... Played organized basketball for the first time as a high school freshman in 2016 and has grown five inches since…Has a 7-1 wingspan and wears a size 17 shoe.... General Studies Communications major.