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Connor Essegian (born December 12, 2003) is an American college basketball player for the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference.

Early life and high school career
Essegian was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana and played at Central Noble High School. As a sophomore, Essegian led Central Noble HS to it's first NECC Tournament in 50 years and it's programs best overall record (22–5). That year he averaged 24.0 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game. His 648 points scored during his sophomore campaign was this highest single season scoring total in Noble County history. As a junior, Essegian led the Cougars to a 20–1 record while averaging 24.0 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 2.3 steals per game while shooting better than 41 percent from 3–point range. He scored a school record 44 points during the conference tournament quarterfinals. During his senior season, Connor averaged over 26 points per game (68% FG, 43% 3FG) and led Central Noble to the Indiana Class 2A state basketball championship game. Essegian finished his high school career as one of the most prolific scorers in Indiana state high school history placing 10th on the all–time list with 2,526 points, passing other Indiana high school greats like Larry Bird, Shawn Kemp, Eric Gordon, Steve Alford and Oscar Robertson. Essegian was named one of five finalists for 2022 Indiana Mr. Basketball joining Travis Grayson, CJ Gunn, Fletcher Loyer and eventual winner Braden Smith.

Recruiting
Essegian received 32 NCAA Division I offers. He trimmed his list down to seven and chose Wisconsin over Butler, Creighton, Minnesota, Wake Forest, Loyola (IL) and IPFW.

Freshman season
As a freshman, Essegian started the season coming off the bench as a 3–point specialist. Midway through the season, the Badgers were dealing with injuries and the lack of scoring. Coach Greg Gard then inserted Connor into the starting lineup for Jordan Davis. After being inserted into the starting lineup, Essiegen would score a season and career high 24 points in a defeat against the Michigan Wolverines. He finished the season as the Badgers third leading scorer averaging 11.7 points per game. Essegian broke the Badgers freshman single season 3-point record with 69 made threes surpassing Brad Davison's mark of 60 in 2018. Essegian was also named to the Big Ten All–Freshman Team becoming just the eighth Badgers to earn the honors joining Chucky Hepburn (2022), Ethan Happ (2016), Nigel Hayes (2014), Sam Dekker (2013), Joe Krabbenhoft (2006) and Alando Tucker (2003). After his freshman season, Connor was invited to represent the Armenia men's national basketball team as they attempt to quality for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

Sophomore season
Essegian was expected to be a big part and a starter for the Badgers 2023–24 season. That changed when the Badgers signed AJ Storr in the NCAA transfer portal from St. John's. Therefore, Connor was asked to come off the bench to start the season. The Badgers lacked bench scoring last season and this was a way for Coach Greg Gard to have a valuable scoring threat coming off the bench. Essegian's playing time has been limited in his sophomore season due to a early season back injury and lackluster defense according to Coach Greg Gard.

Personal life
Essegian's parents are Rich and Jody Essegian. The cousin of Connor's grandfather is MLB hall of famer Robin Yount. Another cousin of Connor's grandfather is Chuck Essegian who played college football and baseball, played in the 1951 Rose Bowl. He also played 6 seasons (1958–63) where he played in the 1959 World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Chuck Essegian set a World series record with two–pinch hit home runs and became just the second player to play in both a Rose Bowl and World Series, the other being Jackie Jensen.

Schedule
!colspan=12| Regular Season

Batting
(through July 24, 2022) ''Players in bold are on the active roster.  Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; R = Runs; H = Hits; 2B = Doubles; 3B = Triples; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in; SB = Stolen bases; BB = Walks; K = Strikeouts; Avg. = Batting average; OBP = On Base Percentage; SLG = Slugging Percentage; TB = Total Bases''

Source

Pitching
(through July 24, 2022) Players in bold are on the active roster. Note: W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; WHIP = Walks plus hits per inning pitched; G = Games pitched; GS = Games started; SV = Saves; IP = Innings pitched; H = Hits allowed; R = Runs allowed; ER = Earned runs allowed; BB = Walks allowed; K = Strikeouts Source