31 Kellan Grady

Kellan Grady was born on September 11, 1997, in Barnstable, Massachusetts, to Rob and Danielle Grady. Raised in the Boston area, he attended Catholic Memorial School before completing his prep career at Northfield Mount Hermon School. Grady helped Catholic Memorial win the 2015 Massachusetts Division I state championship and Northfield Mount Hermon capture the 2016 New England championship, earning first-team All-NEPSAC honors as a senior. He chose Davidson over several Atlantic 10 and Ivy League programs.

Grady made an immediate impression at Davidson, opening his freshman season with consecutive 20-point performances and averaging 18.0 points per game. He was named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, earned second-team all-conference and All-Rookie honors, and helped Davidson win the 2018 Atlantic 10 Tournament championship and reach the NCAA Tournament. His 39-point performance against St. Bonaventure included a school-record 16 consecutive free throws and demonstrated the scoring ability that would define his Davidson career.

As a sophomore, Grady remained one of the conference’s premier guards despite missing four games with a knee injury. He averaged 17.3 points, recorded 13 games with at least 20 points and earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 and NABC All-District honors. He finished the season with 31 points, seven rebounds and four assists against Lipscomb in the National Invitation Tournament.

Grady earned second-team All-Atlantic 10 recognition as a junior after averaging 17.2 points and leading Davidson with 25 double-figure scoring performances. He was especially effective late in the season, averaging 20.6 points over his final 11 games. Among his highlights were a 28-point, 10-rebound double-double against Marquette and 24 points, six assists and four steals in a victory over Nevada.

During his senior season at Davidson, Grady averaged 17.1 points and earned first-team All-Atlantic 10 honors for the second time. He scored 32 points against George Mason and became only the sixth player in Davidson history to surpass 2,000 career points. After graduating with a degree in sociology, he entered the transfer portal and selected Kentucky over Virginia, Duke and North Carolina.

Grady brought experience and elite perimeter shooting to Kentucky for the 2021–22 season, starting all 34 games and averaging 11.4 points per contest. He made a team-high 88 three-pointers while shooting 41.5 percent from behind the arc, giving the Wildcats a dependable floor spacer alongside national player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe. His signature Kentucky performance came against No. 25 Alabama, when he tied his career high with seven three-pointers and scored a season-best 25 points to help an injury-depleted Kentucky team erase a 13-point deficit and win 90–81. He also scored eight points in overtime against Mississippi State and made four three-pointers in Kentucky’s commanding 80–62 victory at No. 5 Kansas.

Away from the court, Grady founded College Athletes for Respect and Equality, an initiative created to raise awareness of racial injustice and encourage meaningful change. His grandmother, Sophia Theresa Williams-de Bruyn, was a prominent South African anti-apartheid activist and a leader of the historic 1956 Women’s March. After finishing his collegiate career with 2,389 points, Grady played with the Denver Nuggets during the 2022 NBA Summer League and spent the 2022–23 season with the Grand Rapids Gold of the NBA G League. He subsequently continued his professional career in Europe with Chorale Roanne in France, MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in Germany and Zastal Zielona Góra in Poland.