Is Fletcher Loyer a freshman? Purdue guard's career explored

Fletcher Loyer is one of the most promising youngsters in the Big Ten. The 20-year-old ended the 2023–24 season with an average of 10.3 points, 2.1 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game.

With that, he earned an All-Big Ten honorable mention by the conference coaches and journalists.

Is Fletcher Loyer a freshman?

Fletcher Loyer is not a freshman. The young Purdue guard is a sophomore, having enrolled at the school in the summer of 2022.

Loyer committed to the Boilermakers in Nov. 2020 amidst offers from Michigan, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Missouri and Utah. He walked into the Boilermakers squad as a starting guard in his freshman season.

He made an immediate impact, getting recognition as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Nov. 28, 2022. That week, he averaged 12.3 points, 2.0 assists and 1.7 rebounds in three wins against top-ranked opponents, including Gonzaga and Duke.

Over the season, he built a productive partnership with teammate Braden Smith. They both set the record for Purdue’s record start for a freshman with 35 starts each.

They also ended the season as the school’s second-highest-scoring freshman duo. Loyer totaled 384 points, while Smith scored 340 points, both totaling 724, behind Robbie Hummel and E’Twaun Moore’s 813. Loyer ended his freshman season with an All-Big Ten honorable mention from coaches and the media. That was in addition to several freshman of the week honors.

Loyer is from a family that's sports-oriented. His father, John Loyer, is a basketball coach and scout. John also played college basketball at Akron in the 1980s before he began his coaching career.

Loyer has an older brother, Foster, who is a former Mr. Basketball of Michigan. Foster played college basketball at Michigan State and later at Davidson. His sister, Jersey, plays volleyball at Concordia High School.

Raised initially in Michigan, Loyer attended Clarkston High School in Clarkston, Michigan. The family later moved to Indiana, where Loyer attended Homestead High School.

Playing high school basketball for Homestead, Loyer won the Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior in 2022. He was also the runner-up for the Indiana Mr. Basketball award.

Fletcher Loyer is a pivotal part of the 2023–24 team that achieved the incredible Big Ten regular season championship win. However, the team fell short in the finals of the conference and national championship games.