Wildcats Academy Class of '23

The Perth Wildcats are excited to announce the Inaugural class of the Wildcats Academy.

Introduced in March to help identify the top basketball prospects in WA, Australia and New Zealand, the Wildcats Academy has been in action since April.

The squad comprises 29 emerging athletes aged 14-19, with an enhanced focus on providing an elite pathway for local Indigenous and African juniors.

The 29 athletes selected for the program are:

Over the last few weeks the Wildcats Academy have taken their talents to the court, taking part in matches against NBL1 teams Perry Lakes Hawks, Warwick Senators and Willetton Tigers.

Perth Wildcats Assistant Coach and Director of the Wildcats Academy Keegan Crawford said the squad is starting to see the results of the work they are putting in.

“I think since getting the kids together as individuals and putting them in our program, we’re starting to see guys grasp some of the concepts that we’re putting together,” he said.

“It’s only further cemented by putting them in a game and having them play against adult bodies, the importance of the things that we’re trying to teach and them getting better playing through games instead of just practices has been big for our program.”

“It was good to play against NBL1 competition, the fact that we have WABL championship competition players and NBL1 guys to play against.”

“The physicality is something that a lot of these kids haven’t matched before, we have such a wide age range in the program. So having like 15-year-olds going up against grown men, them having the resistance and being under the pressure to make these decisions is really good for their development.”

The Wildcats Academy be back on court against NBL1 team the Perth Redbacks on Thursday 22 June at Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre.