Perth Wildcats Sign Talented Youngster Ben Henshall

The Perth Wildcats are delighted to announce the signing of emerging WA talent Ben Henshall on a two-year deal.

Having represented WA and Australia on multiple occasions, Henshall was named WABL Male Player of the Year in 2021.

The 18-year-old guard was a standout in the 2023 U20 National Championships, helping WA to the Gold Medal victory, and was also awarded the Bob Staunton Medal for the most outstanding male player of the tournament.

Currently playing for the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence in the NBL1 East competition, six-foot-five Henshall is averaging 22.3 points, 3.1 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Having watched the Wildcats growing up, Henshall said he’s excited to get the opportunity to suit up with the team.

“It feels awesome, I’ve been watching the Wildcats play for a long time now so it feels amazing to finally get to suit up and play with all the boys,” he said.

“The coaches are really focused on development and getting me to where I need to go and they’re going to invest a lot of time into me, being at home and getting to play in front of my family is a big part of it as well.

“I think I’ll be able to bring a lot of versatility, I’ve got good size and length for a guard, I can be another option for scoring or just whatever Rillie (John Rillie) needs me to do, I can get out there and do it.”

Perth Wildcats head coach John Rillie said Henshall’s youthfulness is an important quality going into next season.

“We were attracted to his feel for the game and the swagger he approaches the game with, he has great positional size which will help separate him,” he said.

“His youthful enthusiasm will be something I will want to see every day. 

“Offensively he will be dynamic in the open floor, defensively he will become a very disruptive defender, he has natural instincts for the ball.”

Perth Wildcats General Manager of Basketball Operations Danny Mills said Henshall will be an exciting addition to the team.

“We are thrilled to be able to secure the signature of Ben and bring him home to Perth to start his professional basketball career,” he said.

“He’s exactly the type of young talent with upside we set out in free agency to bring into our program and continue to develop, his combination of positional size and natural feel and IQ for the game allow him the versatility to play both on and off the ball.

“The improvement he has shown over the past 12 months while being at the COE in Canberra under the coaching of Robbie McKinlay, Ash Arnott, and Marty Clarke has been exciting to watch.”