International

Jun 22 2026

Six uncapped players included in Ireland squad for FIBA EuroBasket Qualifiers

Ireland head coach Michael Bree has named six uncapped players in his final 12-man squad for an upcoming friendly with Armenia in Los Angeles on Sunday June 28th, as well as FIBA EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers against North Macedonia and Azerbaijan in Skopje and Baku on July 2^nd and July 5^th.

Ben Stevens (Alliance Montreal), Leeroy Odiahi (Western Kentucky, USA), Declan Gbinigie (Titans BC), Aivaras Uosis (Carsen Newman University, USA), Tiernan Stynes (Quincy University, USA) and Victor Okojie (UMass Lowell, USA) could all make their senior debuts if they take to the floor against the Armenians in Los Angeles.

It’s the second time Ireland will face Armenia in LA, following a 92-91defeat in the Los Angeles International Basketball Cup two years ago. “The game against Armenia is a great opportunity for a new look group to gel against a tough opponent and put their hand up for the games against North Macedonia and Azerbaijan,” said head coach Michael Bree.

“It’s a very new group when you add Sean (Fitzpatrick) and Max (Amadasun) - who have only been with us for a couple of windows - so it’s important Sean (Flood), Adrian (O’Sullivan) and Sam (Alajiki) to keep driving the standards we’ve been working to achieve during the current qualifying campaign.”

“There’s plenty of exciting talent in the squad, so I’m looking forward to getting to work with them and seeing how quickly we can put things together. Our aim as always is to pick up wins, so we’re focused on doing that starting with Armenia on Saturday night,” he added.

6’10 centre Ben Stevens averaged 11.5 points per game, along with 8.9 rebounds and 1.2 assists in his most recent season with Alliance Montreal in the Canadian Elite Basketball League. He has previously had stints in North Macedonia with Vada, German Pro A team Koblenz and Australia’s NBL with South West Slammers and Central Coast Crusaders.

Uosis, Gbinigie, Stynes and Okojie have all come through the Basketball Ireland Pathway Programme, most recently featuring for the Ireland U20 MNT in the last two seasons, while Leeroy Odiahi is also a former U18 and U20 international who appeared in 30 games for Western Kentucky during the 2025/26 NCAA season.

"There's a lot of new faces in the squad, but it just shows the depth that we are building and it's always exciting as a player to see these guys who have been performing at U18 and U20 level come into the squad," said Ireland captain Sean Flood ahead of the window. "From a leadership perspective I'll be doing my best along with Adrian and Sam to get the lads up to speed on expectations of an Irish senior international and hopefully put ourselves in a good position to pick up as many wins as possible."

The Ireland squad will assemble on Wednesday, before departing to Los Angeles on Thursday morning, before travelling to Skopje for their first FIBA EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifier of the window against North Macedonia on Thursday, July 2^nd.

Ireland currently sit in fourth place in Group A with a 1-3 record, following a 76-75 defeat to Azerbaijan and a 91-85 win over Luxembourg in our previous window in March.

Ireland Squad

Max Amadasun (Cultural Y Deportiva Leonesa, SPA), Rapolas Buivydas (Belfast Star), Sean Flood (Heroes Den Bosch, NED), Sean Fitzpatrick (UCD Marian), Sam Alajiki (Giorgio Tesi Group Pistona, ITA), Declan Gbinigie (Titans BC), Aivaras Uosis (Carsen Newman University, USA), Ben Stevens (Alliance Monteral, CAN), Adrian O’Sullivan (Ballincollig BC), Tiernan Stynes (Quincy University, USA), Leeroy Odiahi (Western Kentucky, USA), Victor Okojie (UMass Lowell, USA).