Elijah Ron Pepper (born May 8, 2001) is an Australian-American professional

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 ...

player for the Warwick Senators of the

NBL1 West NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Western Australia partnered with the National Basketball L ...

. He is also contracted with the

Perth Wildcats The Perth Wildcats are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Wildcats compete in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at Perth Arena, ...

of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

for the

UC Davis Aggies The UC Davis Aggies (also referred to as the Ags, Cal Aggies or Aggies) are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Davis. Eighteen of the school's 25 intercollegiate sports - baseball, men's basketball, men's cross coun ...

and won the Big West Player of the Year in 2024.

Early life and high school

Pepper was born in Australia, in the

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

city of

Shepparton Shepparton () (Yorta Yorta language, Yortayorta: ''Kanny-goopna'') is a city located on the floodplain of the Goulburn River (Victoria), Goulburn River in northern Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, approximately north-northeast of Mel ...

, before relocating to the U.S. as a young child. He attended Selah High School in

Selah, Washington Selah is a city in Yakima County, Washington, Yakima County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. It is north of Yakima, Washington, Yakima and part of its metropolitan area. The city's population was 8,153 at the 2020 United States cen ...

. As a freshman, he averaged 21.3 points per game. Pepper increased his scoring to 29 points per game as a sophomore, leading the team to a 2A state title appearance. As a junior, he averaged 24.2 points per game and earned league MVP honors. Pepper was hampered by a knee injury as a senior but averaged 24.1 points per game and a 2A title game appearance. He committed to play college basketball at

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Davis, California, United States. It is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University ...

College career

Pepper became a starter as a freshman and averaged 8.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. As a sophomore, he averaged 14.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. Pepper averaged 15.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game as a junior. As a senior, he averaged 22.5 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, earning First Team All-

Big West The Big West Conference (BWC) is an American collegiate athletic conference whose member institutions participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. The conference was originally formed on July 1, 1969, as the Pacific ...

honors. Pepper entered the

2023 NBA draft The 2023 NBA draft, the 77th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual NBA draft, draft, was held on June 22, 2023, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The draft consisted of 58 picks instead of the typical 60 for the second ...

before returning for his fifth season of eligibility. On December 21, 2023, he scored 21 points in a win against UC Merced to surpass Audwin Thomas's mark as UC Davis all-time leading scorer. Pepper was named Big West Player of the Year.

Professional career

On April 19, 2024, Pepper signed with the

of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) for the 2024–25 season. He came off the bench to average 7.1 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game, scoring a season-high 18 points against the

Sydney Kings The Sydney Kings are an Australian men's professional basketball team competing in the National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). The team is based in Sydney, New South Wales, and play their home games at Qudos Ba ...

on September 27. Pepper joined the Warwick Senators of the

for the 2025 season. On April 5, 2025, he scored 50 points with nine 3-pointers in the Senators' 117–79 season-opening win over the

Lakeside Lightning Lakeside Lightning is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is owned and managed by Lakeside Baptist Church. The Lightning play their home games at Lakeside R ...

. On April 12, he scored 51 points with nine 3-pointers in a 134–109 win over the

Rockingham Flames Rockingham Flames is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of the Rockingham Basketball and Recreation Association (RBRA), the major administrat ...

. On April 17, he scored 48 points with 10 3-pointers in a 102–98 win over the

Joondalup Wolves Joondalup Wolves is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Wanneroo Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organisa ...

. On April 26, he scored 50 points in a 119–83 win over the

Perth Redbacks Perth Redbacks is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Perth Basketball Association (PBA), the major administrative basketball organisation ...

. On May 3, he recorded a

triple-double In basketball, a double-double is a single-game performance in which a player accumulates ten or more in two of the following five statistical categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocked shots. The first "double" in the term ...

with 35 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists in a 104–87 win over the Mandurah Magic. On March 31, 2025, the Wildcats picked up the second-year team option on Pepper's contract for the 2025–26 NBL season.

National team career

In February 2025, Pepper was named in the Australian Boomers squad for two FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers. In April 2025, he was named in the Boomers squad for a trans-Tasman series against

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

in May.

Personal life

Pepper's father, Ryan, and uncle, Jason, both played college basketball in the United States before competing at the state league level in Australia. Ryan, a native of

Yakima, Washington Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the state's 11th most populous city. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The ...

, played at

Central Washington University Central Washington University (CWU) is a public university in Ellensburg, Washington, United States. Founded in 1891, the university consists of four divisions: the President's Division, Business and Financial Affairs, Operations, and Academi ...

and then competed professionally in Australia. After a brief career with the

Hobart Chargers Hobart Chargers is a NBL1 South club based in Hobart, Tasmania. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The Chargers play their home games at the Hobart Netball and Sports Centre and Pembroke Park's South East Stadium. Cl ...

in the

South East Australian Basketball League The South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) was a semi-professional basketball league in Australia comprising both a men's and women's competition. The SEABL began in 1981 and operated for 38 seasons until it was disbanded in 2018. The ...

(SEABL), Ryan played for the Shepperton Gators in the

Big V The Big V is a semi-professional basketball league in Victoria, Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. History The Big V Conference was established in 2000 and joined the Australian Basketball Association (ABA). The ABA ...

between 1999 and 2002. While there he met his wife, Danielle, who worked for the company that owned Shepparton's gym. Jason played in the SEABL between 1996 and 2005. Pepper is the oldest of four children; he has two younger brothers and a younger sister. Pepper holds an

Australian passport An Australian passport is a travel document issued by the Australia, Commonwealth of Australia to individuals holding any form of Australian nationality law, Australian nationality. The document facilitates access to consular assistance from Li ...

and is a

dual citizen Multiple citizenship (or multiple nationality) is a person's legal status in which a person is at the same time recognized by more than one sovereign state, country under its nationality law, nationality and citizenship law as a national or cit ...

of the U.S. and Australia.

References

External links

NBL profileUC Davis Aggies bio"Flame-throwing Pepper ready for bigger role"
at basketball.com.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Pepper, Elijah 2001 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Australia American men's basketball players Australian men's basketball players Basketball players from Washington (state) People from Selah, Washington Perth Wildcats players Shooting guards UC Davis Aggies men's basketball players 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century Australian sportsmen