Payton Sandfort
Payton Sandfort, born on July 12, 2002, in Waukee, Iowa, USA, is an American basketball player who made a significant impact during his collegiate career and is now embarking on his professional journey. Standing at 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) and weighing 215 lb (98 kg), Sandfort primarily plays as a forward or shooting guard.
Sandfort’s personal life includes his parents, Brian and Gretchen Sandfort. His father played basketball at Hastings College, and his mother played basketball at Simpson College. He has two younger siblings, Pryce and Piper, with Pryce also playing college basketball at Nebraska. In addition to basketball, Sandfort also demonstrated athletic prowess in high school, helping Waukee secure a state golf championship as a senior.
Sandfort attended Waukee High School in Waukee, Iowa, where he was rated as a three-star recruit. He committed to playing college basketball for the Iowa Hawkeyes, choosing them over offers from other notable programs such as Stanford, Utah, Minnesota, Drake, Air Force, and Loyola Chicago.
His collegiate career at Iowa spanned from 2021 to 2025, where he became a standout player. As a freshman, Sandfort served as a rotational player, appearing in 34 games and averaging five points and 1.9 rebounds. He had a one-inch “growth spurt” between his freshman and sophomore years, which coincided with his transition to a starting role as the Hawkeyes’ shooting guard in his sophomore season.
During the 2022-23 season, he averaged 10.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and played 20.8 minutes per game, shooting 40.4% from the field and 34.3% from three-point range. He was named the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year in 2023, highlighting his immediate impact off the bench.
In his junior year (2023-24), he was named a starter in all 34 games, where he had an incredible season, averaging 16.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game. He led the team in scoring and three-pointers made, and was second in assists and rebounds. He also led the Big Ten and ranked 34th nationally with 94 three-pointers made.
In his final season (2024-25), Sandfort continued his strong performance, starting all 33 games and averaging 16.7 points, six rebounds, and 2.9 assists. He maintained a field goal percentage of 0.407 and a three-point percentage of 0.340. His collegiate career ended with him finishing 11th in career scoring (1,619 points) and second in career three-pointers made (271) for Iowa. He scored in double figures in 74 career games, with 34 games exceeding 20 points. He started the last 67 games of his collegiate career.
Academically, Sandfort also excelled, earning Third-Team All-Big Ten honors in 2024 and being named a Second-Team Academic All-American in the same year, as announced by the College Sports Communicators (CSC).
Following his impressive collegiate career, Payton Sandfort announced his intentions to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2024 NBA Draft. Although he was projected to go undrafted in the 2025 NBA Draft, he signed a free agent contract with the Oklahoma City Thunder after the 2025 NBA Draft, marking the beginning of his professional basketball career.
