Kellan Grady signs deal with German professional team

MrsTylerKSR

Former Kentucky guard Kellan Grady smiles after hitting a big shot at Rupp Arena - Dr. Michael Huang, Kentucky Sports Radio

Kellan Grady has a new home overseas. The former Cat just signed a one-year deal with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg in the German Bundesliga league.

The move comes after Grady’s first season abroad, which he spent with Chorale Roanne Basket in France. Grady averaged 8.4 points and 1.9 assists per game with Chorale Roanne, shooting 45.4% from the field and 29.2% from the outside in 25.6 minutes per game. Prior to that, he signed an Exhibit 10 deal with the Denver Nuggets following his graduate season at Kentucky and played for the Grand Rapids Gold, their G-League affiliate, for a year.

Before settling into his new home in Baden-Württemberg, Grady will suit up for La Familia, Kentucky’s alumni team in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), which tips off two weeks from today. On his TBT Media Day, Grady said he was looking to continue his overseas career in either the German, Italian, or Spanish markets before potentially trying to make an NBA roster again.

“I’m in the European market and my focus is being the best pro I can be in that in that realm. And when I feel like I’ve achieved that, and I’m at my highest level where I’m really comfortable with where I’m at, and I think I’ve maximized myself out, that’s when I think I’m going to try for the NBA again. And I think it would behoove me frankly, to have a few more years of pro experience — productive pro experience — at that too.”

In his lone season at Kentucky (2021-22), Grady started all 34 games, averaging 11.4 points per contest while shooting a career-high 41.5% from three-point range. When you add in his four seasons at Davidson, Grady finished his college career ranked No. 111 in all-time scoring with 2,389 career points.

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Grady looking forward to returning to Rupp in TBT

Grady is one of eleven former Cats on La Familia, which will host the Lexington Regional of TBT July 19-23. La Familia will be one of 64 teams vying for the winner-takes-all $1 million grand prize. The former Cats are the No. 2 seed in the Lexington Regional and open play vs. the No. 7 seed 305 Ballers on Friday, July 19, at 8 p.m. ET on FS2.

Grady can’t wait to be back in Rupp Arena and playing in front of the BBN again.

“That’s probably one of the things I’m most excited about, is getting a chance to play in Rupp again,” Grady told KSR last month. “I think one of our proudest moments collectively we could agree on from our 2021-22 team was that we were undefeated at home. And that’s a special place. We have an amazing fanbase — and I like to shoot there so I’m excited to get back there.”

The winner of the Lexington Regional will go on to face the winner of the Louisville Region — which includes UofL’s alumni team, The Ville — in the TBT quarterfinals on July 29 or 30 (official game date, time, and location to be determined). The semifinals and championship games will be Aug. 2 and Aug. 4 in Philadelphia at the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

Check out the complete TBT roster and Lexington Regional bracket below. Tickets are on sale now at thetournament.com/tbt/tickets.