Max Shulga

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Max Shulga
No. 11 – VCU Rams
PositionPoint guard / shooting guard
LeagueAtlantic 10 Conference
Personal information
Born (2002-06-25) June 25, 2002 (age 22)
Kyiv, Ukraine
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
High schoolBasketball School of Excellence
(Torrelodones, Spain)
College
Career highlights

Maksym "Max" Shulga (born June 25, 2002) is a Ukrainian college basketball player for the VCU Rams. He previously played for the Utah State Aggies.

Early life and education

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Shulga was born and grew up in Kyiv, Ukraine.[1] He moved to Spain at age 14 to attend the Basketball School of Excellence in Torrelodones.[2] Shulga committed to play college basketball in the United States at Utah State.[3]

College career

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Shulga began his college career at Utah State.[4] He was named honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference as a junior after averaging 11.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game.[2] After the season and the departure of Aggies' head coach Ryan Odom, he entered the NCAA transfer portal.[5]

Shulga transferred to VCU, following Odom.[6] He was named first-team All-Atlantic 10 Conference in his first season with the Rams after averaging 14.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game.[7] Shulga re-entered the transfer portal at the end of the season and initially committed to transfer to Villanova, but ultimately decommitted and returned to VCU.[8]

In his final year at VCU, Shulga averaged a career-high 15.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game, [9] while leading the Rams to win both the Atlantic 10 Conference regular-season and Atlantic 10 Men's Basketball Tournament championships. They won 18 of their final 20 games en route to a No. 11 seed in the NCAA tournament, where they lost to No. 6 seed BYU in the first round. [10]

Shulga is considered a potential NBA prospect and was one of 75 players invited to the 2025 NBA Draft Combine in May of 2025. [11]

Career statistics

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Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

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Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2020–21 Utah St. 23 0 6.8 .342 .300 .833 1.8 0.3 0.4 0.0 1.6
2021–22 Utah St. 32 2 13.7 .512 .450 .776 2.1 1.0 0.7 0.1 4.4
2022–23 Utah St. 35 35 31.1 .428 .364 .824 4.5 4.0 0.7 0.3 11.9
2023–24 VCU 37 37 32.8 .446 .415 .876 4.6 3.6 0.9 0.3 14.0
2024–25 VCU 35 35 32.8 .435 .387 .783 5.9 4.0 1.8 0.1 15.0
Career 162 109 25.0 .439 .392 .821 4.0 2.8 0.9 0.2 10.1

References

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  1. ^ Joachim, Zach (March 3, 2025). "VCU fans plan 'moment for Max,' will fly Ukrainian flags at Shulga's last home game". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "VCU basketball transfers Bairstow, Shulga share close bond". Richmond Times-Dispatch. August 3, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  3. ^ Wood, Trent (May 20, 2020). "Utah State men's basketball adds another commit in Ukrainian national Max Shulga". Deseret News. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  4. ^ "Utah State's Max Shulga's thoughts are with his family in Ukraine as he prepares for Aggies' next game". The Salt Lake Tribune. March 1, 2022. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  5. ^ "2 Utah State basketball starters enter transfer portal". The Salt Lake Tribune. April 3, 2023. Retrieved March 1, 2025.
  6. ^ "VCU basketball lands Utah State transfers Shulga, Bairstow". Richmond Times-Dispatch. April 23, 2023. Retrieved March 5, 2025.
  7. ^ "VCU transfer Max Shulga gives Villanova playmaking and shooting as its roster continues to take shape". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 3, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  8. ^ "Max Shulga withdraws his commitment to Villanova and plans to return to VCU". The Philadelphia Inquirer. May 22, 2024. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  9. ^ "Max Shulga". sports-reference.com. March 21, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
  10. ^ Thamel, Pete; Borzello, Jeff (March 21, 2025). "VCU's Ryan Odom hired as Virginia men's basketball coach". espn.com. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
  11. ^ "NBA announces 75 players invited to participate at 2025 NBA Draft Combine". nba.com. May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2025.
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