We turn back the clock ten years to focus on former Cuesta Basketball Star Malte Kramer. In 2012, Kramer, a native of Freiburg, Germany, was honored as both Cuesta College's Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year and Warren Hansen Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. His achievements were also recognized by the California Community College Athletic Association. On the court, he was named to the 2012 All State Basketball team and in the classroom, he was named the CCCAA's Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In addition to his personal accolades, Kramer led his team to a conference title, a playoff berth and onto the CCCAA Scholar-Team Honor Roll.
Kramer was a two-year star on the hardcourt for the Cougars but had to endure some early challenges in his first year on campus. The Cougars had advanced to the second round of the CCCAA Regional Playoffs in 2010 but graduated their entire starting line-up and went into rebuilding mode the next season with Kramer and a whole new roster. The Cougars battled to a 12-17 record in 2011, but Kramer established himself as a star. He was the only Cuesta player to average more than ten points a game and led the Cougars with 19.4 points per game, tied for 3rd all time at Cuesta. He was also the Cougars' lone representative on the all-Western State Conference First Team. The payoff for Kramer and the Cougars came the next season. Cuesta won the WSC title and advanced to the second round of the CCCAA Playoffs, where they fell by four-points to #1 Citrus. Kramer repeated as a member of the all-WSC First Team and was selected to the CCCAA All State Team. He averaged a team-high 16.5 points per game in his final season and currently ranks 4th all time at Cuesta with both 1,092 points and 17.9 points per game over his career. In the classroom, Malte continued to collect straight A's and was honored at the 2012 CCCAA Convention, where he shined as the best of the best among the State's celebrated student-athletes.
Kramer accepted an athletic scholarship to continue his collegiate career at Pepperdine University. The Waves, like the Cougars before, were in the midst of a rebuilding era when Kramer arrived. Unfortunately, the injury bug caught him during his first year in Malibu and he was limited to only five contests, however he was still named to the West Coast Conference's Academic team. Healthy for his final season, Kramer played in 28 games, starting nine, and averaged 4.8 points per game. He also proved his prowess as a deep-threat by converting 45% of his three-point shots, while the Waves enjoyed their finest season in a decade. In the classroom, Kramer garnered an impressive collection of academic honors. He was a CoSIDA Academic All American and both a CoSIDA All-District and Division I Athletic Director's Association First Team selection. He was also two-time member of both the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the West Coast Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll. Kramer finished his time at Pepperdine by being tabbed as both the institution's 2014 Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year and its 2014 Valedictorian.
Kramer went onto earn his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He is currently the CEO of Luxury Presence, a Real Estate and Marketing Tech Company based in Los Angeles. He also authored a book, "Play for Something" focusing on the lessons learned during his time as an elite athlete.
