Solent Kestrels

Basketball team in Southampton, Hampshire

Solent Kestrels

League| Men NBL Division 2 South Women NBL Division 1
Established| 1998; 26 years ago (1998)
History| Solent Kestrels
1998-present
Arena| Solent Sports Complex
Capacity| 500
Location| Southampton, Hampshire
Website| Official website

The Solent Kestrels are an English professional basketball club based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. Founded in 1998, the Kestrels play their home games at the Solent Sports Complex at Solent University.

## History[edit]

### Junior roots[edit]

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.[1] 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[edit]

The club is partnered with Itchen College, with whom they offer elite level, under-19 basketball development to some of the county's top male and female players.[2]

### Senior teams[edit]

The Kestrels, currently in partnership with Solent University, offers senior basketball with four teams playing at National League 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.[3] In 2020, the Kestrels became the first-ever NBL team to reach the semi-finals of a top-tier British Basketball League competition, the BBL Trophy, and eventually finished as runners-up, losing to the Newcastle Eagles 96-94 after overtime in the final.[4][5][6][7]

## Men's team[edit]

### Honours[edit]

National Cup Champions (2): 2019-20 , 2021-22 [8]
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 [9]
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[edit]

Notable former players

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationality not displayed.

Criteria

To appear in this section a player must have either:

* Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club
* Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time
* Played at least one official NBA match at any time.

* Joel Freeland
* Will Neighbour
* Jeremy Sochan

### Season-by-season records[edit]

Season  | Division  | Tier  | League  | Playoffs  | National Cup

|
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|
|
|

Finish  | Played  | Wins  | Losses  | Points  | Win %
Solent Kestrels
2012-13  | D3 Sou | 4  | 7th  | 18  | 7  | 11  | 14  | 0.389  | Did not qualify  | 1st round
2013-14  | D3 Sou | 4  | 3rd  | 20  | 17  | 3  | 26  | 0.650  | Semi-finals  | 1st round
2014-15  | D3 Sou | 4  | 1st  | 18  | 15  | 3  | 30  | 0.833  | Runners-Up  | 1st round
2015-16 | D2 | 3  | 1st  | 22  | 18  | 4  | 36  | 0.818  | Runners-Up  | 1st round
2016-17 | D1 | 2  | 6th  | 26  | 15  | 11  | 30  | 0.577  | Semi-finals  | Runners-Up
2017-18 | D1 | 2  | 2nd  | 24  | 20  | 4  | 40  | 0.833  | Quarter-finals  | Semi-finals
2018-19 | D1 | 2  | 1st  | 26  | 22  | 4  | 44  | 0.846  | Winners, beating Worthing | Runners-Up
2019-20 | D1 | 2  | 1st  | 23  | 22  | 1  | 47  | 0.957  | No playoffs  | Winners, beating Reading
2020-21 | D1 | 2  | 1st  | 19  | 17  | 2  | 34  | 0.895  | Winners, beating Hemel | No competition
2021-22 | D1 | 2  | 1st  | 26  | 24  | 2  | 48  | 0.923  | Winners, beating Hemel | Winners, beating Newcastle
2022-23 | D1 | 2  | 8th  | 26  | 12  | 14  | 24  | 0.462  |  | 5th round

### Record in BBL competitions[edit]

Season  | Competition  | Round  | Opponent  | Home  | Away

|
|
|
|
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2018–19 | BBL Trophy | R1  | Cheshire Phoenix |  | L 86-75
2019–20 | BBL Trophy | R1  | London Lions |  | W 82-92
QF  | Worthing Thunder |  | W 81-94
SF  | Bristol Flyers | W 103-67  | L 92-73
F  | Newcastle Eagles |  | L 96-94 (OT)
2020–21 | BBL Trophy | R1  | Derby Trailblazers |  | W 73-101
QF  | Surrey Scorchers |  | L 82-73
2021–22 | BBL Trophy | R1  | Glasgow Rocks |  | L 82-91

## Women's team[edit]

Honours

National League Division 1 League Champions (1): 2016-17 [10]

## See also[edit]

* Official website

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Team Solent Basketball". www.solent.ac.uk.
2. ^ "Itchen College :: Basketball Academy". www.itchen.ac.uk.
3. ^ Neter, Sam (28 April 2019). "Solent Kestrels Claim NBL D1 Playoff Title". Hoopsfix.com. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
4. ^ "BBL Trophy: Solent Kestrels aiming for Glasgow final". 14 February 2020 - via www.bbc.co.uk.
5. ^ "Team Solent Kestrels pull off big upset in BBL Trophy". Hampshire Chronicle.
6. ^ Gains, Bradley (6 January 2020). "Worthing Thunder, Solent Kestrels knock out BBL opposition in BBL Trophy". Hoopsfix.com. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
7. ^ "BBL Trophy: Newcastle Eagles beat Team Solent Kestrels 96-94 in overtime". BBC Sport.
8. ^ Neter, Sam (2 February 2020). "Solent Kestrels end National Cup drought as perfect season continues". Hoopsfix.com. Retrieved 16 February 2020.
9. ^ https://www.hoopsfix.com/2018/02/team-solent-kestrels-take-national-trophy/ }[dead link]
10. ^ "About". Team Solent Kestrels Basketball Club.