The Dayton Air Strikers are an American minor league

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team based out of

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

. The team plays throughout North America between the United States and Canada. They currently compete in the

Midwest Basketball League The Maximum Basketball League (MBL) is a professional men's basketball league which operates in the United States. History Established in 2015 by founder Michael A. Wright, the Midwest Basketball League (MBL) was rebranded the Maximum Basketball ...

based out of Minnesota.

History

Established in 2010, the Air Strikers started as an expansion franchise of the

Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League (PBL) is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after the 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived under new management for t ...

in the 2011 season, before competing in the

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...

as a "branding team" in the spring of 2011. They subsequently resumed play in the PBL for the 2012 season. In 2013, they played in the

Central Basketball League The Central Basketball League was an early regional professional or semi-pro basketball league based in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The league disbanded on November 12, 1912, after playing a few exhibition games. Joseph "Joe" Meech Leithead served as S ...

for one season (playing 6 games and did not return to the league the following season due to irreconcilable differences. During 2014–2015 the team remained active on the Pro-Am circuit playing professional and club teams in the Great Lakes Summer League, and the Ohio Pro Development Basketball Organization hosting and traveling to teams located around Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. The team announced its full return as a member of the

that started in April 2016. The Dayton Air Strikers went undefeated on its home court going 7-0 holding the record for the longest winning streak. In July 2016 the team became the MBL East Division champions ending the regular season with a record of 12–1.

Season-by-season

Player development

Since inception the Dayton Air Strikers have helped launch the careers of over 20 players, recruiting players from well known colleges such as

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a Private university, private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary (Marianists), Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the U ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with ca ...

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio, United States. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in ...

, and

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier had an enrollment of approximately 5,600 undergraduate an ...

. Leaving directly from the team to play internationally in Germany, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Spain, Japan, Puerto Rico, Iceland, and Saudi Arabia. Players also have gone on to playing for the

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of the 2024–25 season, ...

and the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters is an American Exhibition game, exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, entertainment, and comedy in their style of play. Over the years, they have played more than 26,000 exhibition games in 124 ...

. In 2012 four players were drafted internationally to play in the

NBL Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; ) was a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketball League teams joined with four new franch ...

including two players selected in the top seven of the draft.

Alumni

Mark Gomillia (2012) -

Oshawa Power The Mississauga Power were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Mississauga, Ontario, that competed in the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL). Established in as the Oshawa Power, they played in the Central Division (NBL Cana ...

William Harris (2012) -

Brandon Hassell (2012) -

Summerside Storm The Island Storm is an inactive Canadian professional basketball team based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The team is a charter member of the National Basketball League of Canada that began play in the 2011–12 season. The Storm plays ...

Avery Smith (2012) -

Joe Thomasson Joe Thomasson (born August 16, 1993) is an American-Georgian professional basketball player for Gran Canaria of the Spanish Liga ACB. He played college basketball for State Fair Community College and Wright State. Early and personal life Thomas ...

(2016) - BC Dinamo București

References

External links

Dayton Air Strikers websiteEurobasket.com team profile
Basketball teams in Dayton, Ohio Former Premier Basketball League teams Basketball teams established in 2010 2010 establishments in Ohio {{Ohio-basketball-team-stub