Todd Blanchfield
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Todd Blanchfield (born 7 November 1991) is an Australian 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 Illawarra Hawks of the
NBL1 East NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales partnered with the Nat ...
. He is also contracted with the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League (NBL). He began his NBL career in 2009 with the
Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertain ...
, where he played six seasons. Between 2015 and 2023, he played for Melbourne United (2015–17),
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 ...
(2017–18), Illawarra Hawks (2018–20) and Perth Wildcats (2020–23). He joined the Illawarra Hawks in 2023 for a second stint and helped the team win the NBL championship in 2025. In 2017, Blanchfield won a gold medal with
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
at the
FIBA Asia Cup The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the t ...
.


Early life

Born and raised in
Mackay, Queensland } Mackay () is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland ...
, Blanchfield attended Mackay State High School and played for representative teams of Mackay Basketball Association. In January 2008, he travelled to the United States on an Australian schoolboys tour of
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
.


Professional career


NBL


Townsville Crocodiles (2009–2015)

In July 2009, Blanchfield signed with the
Townsville Crocodiles The Townsville Crocodiles were an Australian professional men's basketball team based in the North Queensland city of Townsville. They competed in the National Basketball League (NBL) and played their home games at the Townsville Entertain ...
of the National Basketball League. He appeared in 10 games during the 2009–10 season as a development player. In June 2010, Blanchfield signed a three-year contract with the Crocodiles. In 27 games during the 2010–11 season, he averaged 2.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. In 31 games during the 2011–12 season, he averaged 7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. In May 2012, Blanchfield signed a two-year extension to remain under contract with the Crocodiles through the 2014–15 season. In 2012–13, Blanchfield averaged 9.4 points and 4.1 rebounds in 28 games. He went on to average 11.0 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28 games during the 2013–14 season. In 2014–15, Blanchfield earned NBL Player of the Week honours twice. He was named the NBL's Most Improved Player and earned All-NBL Second Team honours. In 28 games, he averaged 14.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game.


Melbourne United (2015–2017)

On 22 May 2015, Blanchfield signed a two-year deal with Melbourne United. In his debut for United on 9 October 2015 in the team's season opener, Blanchfield scored a career-high 29 points with seven 3-pointers in a 99–84 win over the Crocodiles. He went on to help United earn the minor premiership after finishing the regular season in first place with an 18–10 record. However, in their semi-final series against the fourth-seeded
New Zealand Breakers The New Zealand Breakers (also known as the Bank of New Zealand, BNZ Breakers for sponsorship reasons) are a New Zealand professional basketball team based in Auckland. The Breakers are the only non-Australian side currently competing in Austral ...
, United were swept 2–0 to bow out of the playoffs. Blanchfield appeared in all 30 games for United in 2015–16, averaging 9.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. On 16 October 2016, in United's fourth game of the 2016–17 season, Blanchfield hit eight 3-pointers and scored 27 points on 9-of-11 shooting in a 95–83 win over the Illawarra Hawks. He later missed three weeks with a groin injury. For the season, he averaged 8.8 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 steals in 22 games.


Sydney Kings (2017–2018)

On 24 March 2017, Blanchfield signed a two-year deal with 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 8 May 2018, he was released by the Kings per his request. In his lone season with Sydney, Blanchfield averaged 9.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game on 33.3% shooting from beyond the arc.


Illawarra Hawks (2018–2020)

On 11 May 2018, Blanchfield signed a three-year deal with the Illawarra Hawks. On 6 January 2020, he scored a career-high 35 points in a 102–96 loss to the
Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adela ...
. He won his second successive Hawks MVP award in 2019–20 while averaging 13 points and four rebounds per game. Blanchfield became a free agent following the 2019–20 season following an ownership change at the Hawks.


Perth Wildcats (2020–2023)

On 20 July 2020, Blanchfield signed a two-year contract with the Perth Wildcats. In game one of the Wildcats' semi-final series against the Illawarra Hawks on 10 June 2021, they lost 74–72 despite a game-high 24 points from Blanchfield. After winning game two 79–71, Blanchfield scored 21 of his 24 points in the first half of the Wildcats' 79–71 win in game three to clinch the series 2–1. In game one of the grand final series against Melbourne United, the Wildcats lost 73–70 despite a game-high 27 points from Blanchfield. They went on to lose the series 3–0. On 21 September 2021, Blanchfield was sidelined for three to four months after undergoing surgery to repair damaged cartilage in his left knee. He returned from injury in mid December, but in just his second game of the season, he re-injured his left knee. He was subsequently ruled out for a further three to four weeks. On 6 March 2022, he scored 17 of his season-high 22 points in the first quarter of the Wildcats' 92–73 win over the
Adelaide 36ers The Adelaide 36ers are an Australian professional men's basketball team in the National Basketball League (NBL). The 36ers are the only team in the league representing the state of South Australia and are based in the state's capital of Adela ...
. On 27 May 2022, Blanchfield re-signed with the Wildcats on a three-year deal. He played his 350th NBL game in October 2022. On 14 April 2023, Blanchfield parted ways with the Wildcats.


Return to Illawarra (2023–present)

On 28 June 2023, Blanchfield signed a two-year deal with the Illawarra Hawks, returning to the franchise for a second stint. In March 2024, he played his 400th NBL game. Blanchfield started the 2024–25 NBL season averaging 8.5 minutes in the opening 20 games. Following an injury to import Darius Days, his minutes increased to 18.2 minutes over the next nine matches. In game one of the Hawks' semi-finals series against the South East Melbourne Phoenix, Blanchfield had 16 points with four 3-pointers along with six rebounds in a win. In game three, he scored 28 points and hit a career-high eight 3-pointers in a 126–96 win, helping the Hawks advance to the grand final. He helped the Hawks defeat Melbourne United 3–2 in the grand final series to win his first NBL championship. In 33 games for the season, he averaged 5.4 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. On 7 April 2025, Blanchfield re-signed with the Hawks on a three-year deal.


Australian state leagues and New Zealand NBL

In 2007, Blanchfield played his first season with the Mackay Meteors in QBL, where he was a valuable member of the team despite being just 15 years old. He moved to
Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...
in 2008 and played in the SEABL for the AIS, where he averaged five points and two rebounds in 12 games. He returned to the Meteors in
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
and averaged 20.6 points, 7.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. With the Meteors in
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, he averaged 18.7 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 21 games. In
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, Blanchfield played for the Townsville Heat. He averaged 18.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18 games, and was named in the QBL All-League Team. With the Heat in
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, he earned QBL All-League Team honours for the second straight year after averaging 19.7 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals in 13 games. With the Heat in
2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...
, he averaged 17.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 13 games. Blanchfield returned to the Meteors in
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
and helped them reach the grand final. He earned QBL All-League Team honours for the third time in four years. In 18 games, he averaged 19.3 points, 8.9 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.1 steals per game. On 9 January 2015, Blanchfield signed with the Southland Sharks as an import for the 2015 New Zealand NBL season. He scored a game-high 28 points in his debut for the Sharks. He later earned NBL Player of the Week honours for round eight and led the Sharks to victory in the grand final with a game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds in a 72–68 win over the
Wellington Saints The Wellington Saints are a New Zealand professional men's basketball team based in Wellington. The Saints compete in the National Basketball League (NBL) and play their home games at TSB Bank Arena. For sponsorship reasons, they are known as ...
. For the season, he earned NBL All-Star Five honours. In 20 games, he averaged 21.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. In 2017, Blanchfield played with the Townsville Heat as a short-term injury replacement for Jamell Anderson. In 2018, Blanchfield returned to the Meteors and averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds and 4.3 assists on 47% shooting, which saw him voted league MVP and a member of the QBL All-League Team. On 18 March 2019, Blanchfield signed with the Southland Sharks for the 2019 New Zealand NBL season, returning to the team for a second stint. In 19 games, he averaged 16.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Blanchfield was set to play for the Rockhampton Rockets in the NBL1 North in 2020, but the season was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. He re-joined Rockhampton in 2022. In April 2023, Blanchfield joined the Gold Coast Rollers of the NBL1 North. He was named to the All-NBL1 North First Team and helped the team reach the grand final series. Blanchfield joined the Mackay Meteors in the 2024 NBL1 North season. He was named to the NBL1 North First Team for the second straight year. He went on to help the Meteors win the NBL1 North championship while earning Finals MVP. Blanchfield joined the Illawarra Hawks of the
NBL1 East NBL1 East, formerly the Waratah League, is a semi-professional basketball league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2021, Basketball New South Wales partnered with the Nat ...
for the 2025 season.


National team career

In 2008, Blanchfield earned selection for the under 19 Australian Emus squad. He helped the Emus defeat the United States to claim bronze at the
Albert Schweitzer Tournament The DBB Albert Schweitzer Tournament (, abbreviated as AST), full name DBB Albert Schweitzer World Under-18 Tournament (), is an international basketball competition that is played between national teams of the Under-18 men's age category. It t ...
in Germany. Later that year, helped the Emus claim bronze at the
William Jones Cup The William Jones Cup International Basketball Tournament (), also known as the William Jones Cup, is an international basketball tournament organized by the Chinese Taipei Basketball Association (CTBA) held annually since 1977 in sports, 1977 ...
in Taiwan. In 2012, Blanchfield played for
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
at the Stanković Cup, where he won a silver medal. In 2013, he played for Australia at the Stanković Cup and the World University Games, where he won gold and silver respectively. In 2017, Blanchfield won a gold medal with Australia at the
FIBA Asia Cup The FIBA Asia Cup (formerly the FIBA Asia Championship and ABC Championship) is an international basketball tournament which takes place every four years between the men's national teams of Asia and Oceania. Through the 2015 edition, the t ...
. In June 2022, Blanchfield was named in the Boomers' World Cup Qualifiers team. He re-joined the team for the next qualifying window in February 2023. In April 2023, Blanchfield helped the Australia 3x3 team win silver at the FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup. Twelve months later, he helped Australia win gold at the 2024 FIBA 3x3 Asia Cup. He was named tournament MVP in 2024 after top scoring with 47 points in five games. In April 2025, Blanchfield 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

As of October 2023, Blanchfield and his wife Jess were expecting their first child in December 2023.


References


External links


NBL player profileMelbourne United player profileQBL player profile"Take 40: Todd Blanchfield"
at nbl.com.au
"Doing the hard yards"
at nbl.com.au {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchfield, Todd 1991 births Living people Australian expatriate sportspeople in New Zealand Australian Institute of Sport basketball players Australian men's basketball players Illawarra Hawks players Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade Melbourne United players Perth Wildcats players Shooting guards Small forwards Southland Sharks players Sportsmen from Queensland Sportspeople from Mackay, Queensland Sydney Kings players Townsville Crocodiles players Summer World University Games medalists in basketball FISU World University Games silver medalists for Australia Rockhampton Rockets players 21st-century Australian sportsmen