The Solent Kestrels are an English professional basketball club based in the city of

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

. Founded in 1998, the Kestrels play their home games at the Solent Sports Complex at

Solent University Southampton Solent University (formerly and commonly known as Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 10,500 students (2019/20). Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near ...

History

Junior roots

The club was founded in 1998 by Jimmie and Bev Guymon, who wanted somewhere for their son and other youngsters in the area to play competitive basketball. Originally set up to offer junior basketball to boys teams from under-13's to under-18's, the club offers junior basketball to boys and girls from under-10 up to under-18 National League level. The girls program was introduced in 2001, an initiative of Ollie Jerram and Bev Guymon, giving Ollie's daughter the opportunity to play with other girls, as mixed basketball was not allowed after the age of 15. In their first season, the team won the U16 National title.

Elite academy

The club is partnered with

Itchen College Itchen Sixth Form College (also known as Itchen College) is a mixed sixth form college in Bitterne, Southampton, Hampshire, England. It was established in 1906 and was originally a mixed secondary school, it later became Itchen Grammar School ...

, with whom they offer elite level, under-19 basketball development to some of the county's top male and female players.

Senior teams

The Kestrels offers senior basketball with two teams playing at

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

level. The men's senior team, established in 2012, are previous National Basketball League League and Playoffs champions, the second tier of British men's basketball. In 2020, the Kestrels became the first-ever NBL team to reach the semi-finals of a top-tier

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) was a men's professional basketball sports league, league in Great Britain. Since its establishment in 1987 the BBL represented the highest level of basketball competition within the United Kingdom. The orga ...

competition, the BBL Trophy, and eventually finished as runners-up, losing to the

Newcastle Eagles The Newcastle Eagles are a professional basketball club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. They play in Super League Basketball, the top-tier professional basketball league in Britain for men and women, and the European North Basketball Leag ...

96-94 after overtime in the final.

Men's team

Honours

:: National Cup Champions (2): 2019-20 , 2021-22 :: National League Division 1 League Champions (4): 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22 :: National League Division 1 Playoffs Champions (3): 2018-19, 2020-21, 2021-22 :: National Trophy Champions (1): 2017-18 :: National League Division 2 League Champions (1): 2015-16 :: National League Division 3 South League Champions (1): 2014-15 :: L Lynch Trophy Champions (1): 2020-21

Players

Notable former players * Joel Freeland * Will Neighbour *

Jeremy Sochan Jeremy Juliusz Sochan ( ; born May 20, 2003) is a Polish-American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Poland national team. Born in the United States to a Polish mother and a ...

Season-by-season records

Record in BBL competitions

Women's team

Honours :: National League Division 1 League Champions (1): 2016-17 :: National League Division 1 League Champions (1): 2022-23

References

{{reflist Basketball teams in England Sport in Southampton Basketball teams established in 1998 1998 establishments in England