Mehryn Donegan Kraker (born June 5, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for the Luleå Basket of the Basketligan dam. She played college basketball for Green Bay before being drafted by the Washington Mystics in the third round of the 2017 WNBA draft. She has since played in Spain, Sweden, Australia, Germany, and in the Global Women's Basketball Association.

Mehryn Kraker
No. 10 – Luleå Basket
PositionForward
LeagueBasketligan dam
Personal information
Born (1994-06-05) June 5, 1994 (age 30)
West Allis, Wisconsin, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Career information
High schoolWest Allis Central
(West Allis, Wisconsin)
CollegeGreen Bay (2013–2017)
WNBA draft2017: 3rd round, 27th overall pick
Selected by the Washington Mystics
Playing career2017–present
Coaching career2020–2021
Career history
As player:
2017–2019Cadí La Seu
2019Wisconsin GLO
2019–2020IDK Euskotren
2021Wisconsin GLO
2021–2022KFUM Ostersund Basket
2022–presentRockingham Flames
2022Rheinland Lions
2023Luleå Basket
2023-2024Bendigo Spirit
2024-presentLuleå Basket
As coach:
2020–2021Green Bay (assistant)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at Basketball Reference Edit this at Wikidata

Early life

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Kraker was born in West Allis, Wisconsin, and attended West Allis Central High School.[1] Kraker was a four time All-Conference selection in the Greater Metro Conference, as well as its player of the year once. She was also a two-time All-Area/All-Suburban team selection by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a two-time All-State selection, and a Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game pick. Kraker graduated as West Allis Central's all time leader in points, assists, and steals.[2]

College career

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Kraker redshirted her freshman year to ensure a full four years of eligibility. Her first season in 2013–14 saw her start 31 games of the 32-game season, where she became the first Phoenix player since Julie Wojta to score more than 30 points in a game. Kraker was also named Horizon League Freshman of the Week, and received selections to the 2014 Horizon League All-Freshman team, as well as the Horizon League All-Tournament Team. The following year, Kraker was named to the Horizon League's All-League Second Team, and led the team in scoring with 12.5 points per game.[2] She was named again to the All-League Second Team and received Horizon League Tournament MVP honors in the 2015–16 season. Kraker was named Horizon League Player of the Year her senior year, as well as ESPN.com's Mid-Major player of the year.[3] Kraker graduated as Green Bay's record holder for most three-pointers made in a season and career.

Green Bay statistics

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Source[4]

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
Year Team GP Points FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012–13 Green Bay Redshirt
2013–14 Green Bay 31 294 47.7% 39.7% 63.6% 3.9 1.8 0.9 0.5 9.5
2014–15 Green Bay 33 413 46.9% 34.4% 60.3% 4.9 2.1 0.9 0.7 12.5
2015–16 Green Bay 33 383 45.4% 31.0% 58.5% 4.2 3.2 1.5 0.6 11.6
2016–17 Green Bay 33 581 52.7% 38.1% 76.0% 3.2 3.6 1.4 0.4 17.6
Career 130 1671 48.5% 35.8% 66.1% 4.1 2.7 1.2 0.5 12.9

Professional career

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Kraker declared for the 2017 WNBA draft, where she was selected 27th overall in the third round by the Washington Mystics. She appeared in two preseason games before being waived prior to the start of the 2017 WNBA season.[5]

For the 2017–18 season, Kraker moved to Spain to play for Cadi La Seu in the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto. She returned to Cadi La Seu for the 2018–19 season.[6]

After a stint with the Wisconsin GLO of the Global Women's Basketball Association (GWBA),[7] Kraker returned to Spain for the 2019–20 season to play for IDK Euskotren.[8][9]

Kraker initially renewed her contract with IDK Euskotren in June 2020 but departed the team to return to the United States as a coach.[10]

After another stint with the Wisconsin GLO in 2021, Kraker moved to Sweden for the 2021–22 season to play for KFUM Ostersund Basket.[6] Following the Swedish season, she moved to Australia to play for the Rockingham Flames of the NBL1 West in the 2022 season.[11]

Kraker started the 2022–23 season in Germany with the Rheinland Lions but left in December 2022. She joined Luleå Basket in Sweden in January 2023.[6] She then returned to the Flames for the 2023 NBL1 West season.[12]

Coaching career

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Kraker spent the 2020–21 U.S. college season as an assistant coach with the Green Bay Phoenix.[13]

Awards and honors

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High school

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College

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  • Horizon League Player of the Year (2017)
  • espnW Mid-Major Player of the Year (2017)
  • Horizon League Tournament MVP (2016)
  • All-Horizon League Second Team (2015, 2016)
  • Horizon League All-Freshman Team (2014)
  • Horizon League Freshman of the Week (11/11/2014)
  • Third all-time program points (1,671)

References

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  1. ^ "Mehryn Kraker Basketball Player Profile, IDK Eustotren, Green Bay, News, Liga Dia stats, Career, Games Logs, Best, Awards – eurobasket". Eurobasket LLC. Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  2. ^ a b "Mehryn Kraker – Women's Basketball". University of Wisconsin Green Bay Athletics. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  3. ^ "Green Bay's Kraker is espnW's mid-major player of the year". ESPN.com. 2017-03-09. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  4. ^ "NCAA Statistics". web1.ncaa.org. Retrieved 2021-05-19.
  5. ^ WBAY. "Washington Mystics release former Green Bay star Mehryn Kraker". www.wbay.com. Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  6. ^ a b c "Mehryn Kraker". australiabasket.com. Retrieved July 5, 2022.
  7. ^ Sports, FOX 11 (2019-04-17). "Former Phoenix star Kraker joining the GLO". WLUK. Retrieved 2019-08-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ "Mehryn Kraker, tiradora USA para Cadi La Seu | Baloncesto enCancha". www.encancha.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 2019-08-20.
  9. ^ "Mehryn Kraker sigue en el IDK Euskotren – Ibaeta Basket" (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  10. ^ "Antonia Delaere llega al IDK Euskotren tras la baja de Mehryn Kraker". FEB (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-09-12.
  11. ^ "NBL1 West Player Profile Mehryn Kraker". Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  12. ^ Peters, Tyra (4 April 2023). "NBL1 West: US Import Mehryn Kraker re-signs to Rockingham Flames for 2023 season". soundtelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  13. ^ Venci, Scott. "She's back: Former UWGB star Mehryn Kraker hired as assistant". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved 2020-09-08.