Ireland U18 MNT squad announced for FIBA Youth EuroBasket 2026

Ireland U18 MNT head coach Niall Berry is "excited by the potential" of his final 12-man roster for FIBA Youth EuroBasket 2026. Berry has narrowed down his squad following the recent two-game friendly series against Croatia at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin.

The third-year head coach returns five players - Aivaras Buzas (NABA), Kieran Quinn (Bergen Catholic, Oradell NJ), Nathan Gbinigie (Titans BC), Shareef Elmahi (Dublin Lions) and Mark Burns (Belfast Star & Brewster Academy) from his 2025 roster that achieved a 20th place finish following a difficult group draw and some very narrow defeats. All five returnees featured in each of Ireland's seven games, with Quinn, Gbinigie and Burns all averaging over 20 minutes per game. Quinn lead the team in scoring and rebounding, while Gbinigie lead the side in blocks - factors which lead Berry to believe his squad contains "great balance and international experience."

Fryderyk Klimas (Limerick Lions), Aidan McGrath (Thayer Academy / Expressions Elite) and Declan Ehigie(Westtown School, PA) all make the leap from last year's Ireland U16 MNT squad that finished 12th with a 4-4 record in their FIBA Youth EuroBasket. McGrath has a standout performance in Ireland's 68-58 classification game win over Great Britain, contributing 28 points, 17 rebounds and five steals - while Ehigie and Klimas featured prominently running the offense at the point during the tournament. 

 Kieran Quinn lines up for the anthem ahead of one of Ireland's FIBA Youth EuroBasket 2025 group fixtures. 

There's a first call-up to a FIBA Youth EuroBasket U18 squad for 6'3 guard Sean Patterson (IMG Academy). The 17-year-old last featured for Ireland in 2024 at U16 level prior to this season. Patrick O'Keeffee (South Tipp Titans & Tipperary Talons) has seen good minutes on the floor for Tipp Talons in the Domino's Men's Division One, establishing himself as an outside shooting threat as the season progressed, while Michael Cunningham Smyth played a leading role in a very strong U18 and U20 Titans BC programme that most recently reached National League finals earlier in April. 

The squad is made up of players from six counties - Limerick, Laois, Antrim, Galway, Tipperary and Dublin. Titans BC of Galway have the most representation in the squad with two players. Belfast Star,  Dublin Lions, Portlaoise Panthers, South Tipp Titans & Tipp Talons and Limerick Lions all send one. Six players are currently playing their basketball at academies overseas. 

Speaking at the announcement of his final roster, head coach Niall Berry said:  “After a very successful Easter camp where we put players through four days of focused training, playing a highly competitive two-game international series against Croatia, we are delighted to be able to announce the final squad of 12 who will represent Ireland in this summer's FIBA Youth EuroBasket competition.

This squad has five players who are playing in various high-schools and academies in the USA, one player playing in Spain, and six players playing in local clubs in Ireland who have been working with us since September. We’ve selected a squad with great balance and that has a lot of previous international experience. We are excited about the group’s potential, and after the Croatian series, we’ve identified some key areas of focus to prepare the group for what we hope will be a very successful summer.

This squad selection was one of the hardest in my years as a head coach because so many players displayed values and attributes that we feel would help the team achieve its goals. Unfortunately, the selection process is a difficult one and there are always players who miss out, especially with the growing standards in Irish basketball. This year we’ve left behind some incredibly talented players who have proven they are amongst the top tier of players in Ireland. I hope to see them use this as motivation to work towards separating themselves in the future and fight for a place in future squads at U18 and U20 level.

It’s always a great honor to represent our country and it is now up to the players selected to put in the work this next few months to prepare for a highly competitive group at FIBA Youth EuroBasket in Croatia later this year.”

Ireland have been drawn in Group C for the tournament in Croatia alongside Finland, Great Britain, Cyprus, Netherlands and Belgium. The tournament gets underway on Friday, July 24th with a tie against Finland. 

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Group C: 

Group C: Finland, Great Britain, Cyprus, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland. 

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Fixtures:

Finland v Ireland, Friday, July 24th, TBC

Ireland v Cyprus, Saturday, July 25th, TBC

Ireland v Belgium, Sunday, July 26th, TBC

Great Britain v Ireland, Tuesday, July 28th, TBC 

Ireland v Netherlands, Wednesday, July 29th, TBC 

Ireland Squad:

Aidan McGrath (Thayer Academy / Expressions Elite), Aivaras Buzas (NABA), Declan Ehigie (Westtown School, PA), Fryderyk Klimas (Limerick Lions), Jayden Umeh (Portlaoise Panthers), Kieran Quinn (Bergen Catholic, Oradell NJ), Mark Burns (Belfast Star & Brewster Academy), Michael Cunningham Smyth (Titans BC), Nathan Gbinigie (Titans BC), Patrick O'Keeffe (South Tipp Titans & Tipperary Talons), Sean Patterson (IMG Academy), Shareef Elmahi (Dublin Lions).