Carlton Edward Bragg Jr. (born December 14, 1995) is an American professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

player for the

Edmonton Stingers The Edmonton Stingers are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Edmonton, Alberta. They compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) and play their home games at the HIVE arena at the Edmonton Expo Centre. The Stingers' mas ...

of the

Canadian Elite Basketball League The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) is a men's professional minor league basketball organization. The CEBL was founded in 2017 and began play in 2019 with six teams competing all owned and operated by ownership group Canadian Basketball V ...

(CEBL). He played

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

for the

New Mexico Lobos The New Mexico Lobos are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999, after leaving the Western Athlet ...

and the

Kansas Jayhawks The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...

Early life and high school career

Bragg was born in

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

and was raised in the neighborhood of Wade Park. Growing up, four of his friends were murdered. He often spent time at the gym and

roller skating Roller skating is the act of traveling on surfaces with roller skates. It is a recreational activity, a sport, and a form of transportation. Roller rinks and skate parks are built for roller skating, though it also takes place on streets, si ...

to escape violence in his hometown. Bragg played

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

before having a growth spurt and starting

in ninth grade. He played basketball for

Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School is a private Roman Catholic college-preparatory high school located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The school's name is commonly abbreviated VASJ. It was formed by the 1990 merger of Villa Angela Academy (a ...

in Cleveland. As a freshman, he also played baseball for the school as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the major ...

and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

. In his junior season, Bragg averaged 18.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, leading his team to an

Ohio High School Athletic Association The Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA) is the governing body of athletic programs for junior and senior high schools in the state of Ohio. The OHSAA governs eligibility of student athletes, resolves disputes, organizes levels of compe ...

Division III runner-up finish. As a senior, he averaged 21.3 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game and won the Division III state championship. Bragg was named Division III Player of the Year and was selected to the

McDonald's All-American Game The McDonald's All-American Game is the all-star basketball game played each year for American and Canadian boys' and girls' high school basketball graduates. Consisting of the top players, each team plays a single exhibition game after the concl ...

. He was considered a five-star recruit by

247Sports 247Sports is an American network of websites that focus mainly on athletic recruitment in college football and basketball. It is owned and operated by Paramount. The website hosts a large network of team-specific subsites, with each subsite ...

and

Rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...

. On January 8, 2015, Bragg committed to

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to ...

over

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

, joining fellow five-star recruit

Cheick Diallo Cheick Diallo (born September 13, 1996) is a Malian professional basketball player for the Kyoto Hannaryz of the B.League. Diallo was a five-star recruit and the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game. He played ...

College career

Kansas

On March 10, 2016, as a freshman at

, Bragg scored a season-high 12 points in 11 minutes off the bench in an 85–63 quarterfinal win over

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

at the

Big 12 tournament The Big 12 Conference sponsors championships in 23 sports, 10 men's and 13 women's. The first conference championship awarded was the 1996 softball postseason tournament championship, which was won by Oklahoma. From 2011 through 2016, the foot ...

. He finished the season averaging 3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per game. Bragg made his sophomore debut on November 11, 2016, scoring 12 points in a 103–99 overtime loss to 11th-ranked

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th ...

at the

Armed Forces Classic The Armed Forces Classic is a college basketball event operated on a military boatcraft, televised on ESPN, that involves one or two games played in front of military members and their families. History The first game was held on November 9, 201 ...

. Two games later, on November 18, he posted a season-high 15 points and 11 rebounds for his first career

double-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

in an 86–65 victory over

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

. On December 9, Bragg was suspended indefinitely after being arrested on a

misdemeanor A misdemeanor (American English, spelled misdemeanour elsewhere) is any "lesser" criminal act in some common law legal systems. Misdemeanors are generally punished less severely than more serious felonies, but theoretically more so than ad ...

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

charge. He was reinstated when the charge was dropped five days later. On January 26, 2017, Bragg was again suspended indefinitely after being charged with possession of

drug paraphernalia "Drug paraphernalia" is a term to denote any equipment, product or accessory that is intended or modified for making, using or concealing drugs, typically for recreational purposes. Drugs such as marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and methamphetami ...

. He was reinstated five days after reaching a diversion agreement and missed three games due to the suspension. On February 22, 2017, Bragg matched his season-high of 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds in an 87–68 win over

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

. As a sophomore, he averaged 5.2 points and 4.1 rebounds in 13.8 minutes per game. After the season, Bragg announced that he was transferring from Kansas. He committed to continue his career at

Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the U ...

on May 3, 2017 over

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

and Illinois. He worked out with the team in the offseason but was not eligible to play due to

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athlete, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic sports, ...

(NCAA) transfer rules. Before the season began, Bragg had stopped traveling with the team, and by January 1, 2018, he had left the program.

New Mexico

On January 25, 2018, he announced that he was transferring to

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

. Bragg was forced to sit out the first semester due to NCAA transfer rules and became eligible to play on December 16, 2018. On March 9, 2019, he recorded 22 points and 20 rebounds, both the best marks of his career, in an 88–81 loss to

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the sou ...

. He became the first New Mexico player to post at least 20 points and 20 rebounds since

Drew Gordon Drew Edward Gordon (born July 12, 1990) is an American professional basketball player for Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka of the B.League. The power forward began his college basketball career with the UCLA Bruins, then transferred during his sophomore ye ...

in 2012. In 24 games as a junior, Bragg averaged 10.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game. He was named honorable mention All-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations ...

by the media. On December 1, 2019, as a senior, Bragg chipped in a season-high 20 points and 14 rebounds in a 72–63 win over

Montana Montana () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West List of regions of the United States#Census Bureau-designated regions and divisions, division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North ...

. On December 16, he was recognized as Mountain West Player of the Week after recording 17 points and 17 rebounds in a 69–62 victory over

New Mexico State New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's tw ...

. On December 22, Bragg was suspended indefinitely after being accused of attempted rape. After missing three games, he was reinstated on January 3, 2020. On January 12, Bragg was dismissed from the team after he was arrested on charges of

driving under the influence Driving under the influence (DUI)—also called driving while impaired, impaired driving, driving while intoxicated (DWI), drunk driving, operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating under the influence (OUI), operating vehicle under the infl ...

and marijuana possession. Bragg averaged 12.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game as a senior in 15 games.

Professional career

On August 24, 2020, Bragg signed his first professional contract with

Basketball Nymburk Basketball Nymburk, also known as ERA Nymburk due to sponsorship reasons, is a professional basketball team that is based in the town of Nymburk. The club plays in the top-tier level professional Czech National League (NBL). Nymburk regularly pl ...

of the Czech National Basketball League. In his first and only game, he had 2 points, 2 rebounds and 1 assist. On September 21, he signed with

Polski Cukier Toruń Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin scree ...

of the

Polish Basketball League Polska Liga Koszykówki (PLK) (English: Polish Basketball League) is a professional men's club basketball league in Poland. It constitutes the first and highest-tier level of the Polish league pyramid. The winning team of the final round are crow ...

. On August 5, 2021, he has signed with Balıkesir Büyükşehir Belediye of the

Turkish Basketball First League The Turkish Basketball First League, also called TBL, is the second-tier level league of professional club basketball in Turkey. The league was previously known as Turkish Basketball Second League (TB2L). Format and promotion and relegation The ...

(TBL).

National team career

Bragg represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

with several Kansas teammates at the

2015 Summer Universiade The 2015 Summer Universiade ( ko, 2015년 하계 유니버시아드, Icheon sip-o nyeon Hagye Yunibeosiadeu), officially known as the XXVIII Summer Universiade ( ko, 제28회 하계 유니버시아드, Jeisippalhoe Hagye Yunibeosiadeu) and also kn ...

Gwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial offic ...

, South Korea. He averaged 3.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game and helped win a gold medal.

Personal life

Bragg's father, also named Carlton, is a house painter and bowler. He has a son, Carlton III, who was born in May 2017.

References

External links

Kansas Jayhawks bioNew Mexico Lobos bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bragg, Carlton Living people 1995 births American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in the Czech Republic American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American men's basketball players Basketball players from Cleveland Edmonton Stingers players FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball players McDonald's High School All-Americans Medalists at the 2015 Summer Universiade New Mexico Lobos men's basketball players Power forwards (basketball) Universiade medalists in basketball