Hartpury’s basketball programme has been officially reignited this year and is already making an impact, with the newly formed team celebrating an unbeaten start and a surge in student and community engagement.
Led by Coach Ib Lee-Omer, the refreshed squad represents one of Hartpury Active’s four non-academy competitive teams for 2025–2026, alongside cricket, volleyball, and hockey. The team reflects Hartpury’s commitment to creating accessible, inclusive sporting opportunities for students of all backgrounds, abilities, and study pathways.
Coach Lee-Omer, who has brought a wealth of experience and positive energy to the programme, said: “The team is all about bringing more opportunities and awareness of basketball to the area. The combination of Hartpury’s sporting prowess and the community is providing learning, progress and development across abilities in various forms. It’s an exciting team, there is some young talent within the squad, so being able to nurture them and prepare them for the transition into senior basketball is our key motivator. Winning and being unbeaten is just a positive by-product of our hard work at the moment.”
Following several years of casual sessions within the Hartpury Active Programme, basketball has now grown into a structured, competitive offer once again. Hartpury previously fielded student teams in the GBL during 2018–19 and 2019–20, but like many grassroots and developmental sports, opportunities stalled during and after the pandemic.
Since then, regular sessions, community links, and renewed student interest have helped reshape the programme into a vibrant team with clear identity and ambition.
Ib’s supportive coaching style and his strong connections with community players have played a key role in setting firm foundations for long-term success.
Among the standout performers this season is Hartpury College Agriculture student Thad Thoma, who delivered an exceptional performance in his first away game against YMCA Cheltenham Eagles on Thursday 6 November, scoring 26 points, one-third of Hartpury’s total points. Remarkably, almost half of his baskets came from three-pointers, an impressive achievement for a 16-year-old competing at this level.
Players from across Hartpury’s academic community continue to engage with the team, including those balancing other competitive commitments. For example, Hartpury Sport student Rob Redgrave, a Junior Golf Academy athlete, is also taking part for additional competitive play and to stay active.
Hartpury is entering a busy run of home fixtures, with matches taking place on Mondays at 7:30pm in Sports Hall 1. Full fixture details can be found on the GBBA website.
The team’s campaign in the Charity Cup begins in January. Depending on the first-round result, Hartpury will progress either into the Charity Cup or the JL Plate, with finals for both competitions often hosted at Hartpury in May.
Hartpury Basketball is open to all Hartpury students, regardless of prior experience. Students are welcome to attend training sessions even if they cannot commit to regular fixtures. For training times and enquiries, contact the Hartpury Active Team: hartpuryactive@hartpury.ac.uk.
Learn more about Hartpury Active here.
Long-term, Hartpury Active aims to expand opportunities further, with the ambition of developing a women’s basketball team as the programme continues to grow.
