Ben Ayre

Benjamin Ayre (born 8 December 1995)[1] is an Australian professional basketball player for the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball in the United States for Skagit Valley College and Newman University before joining the Adelaide 36ers of the NBL as a development player in 2019. He played briefly in Lithuania for BC Mažeikiai in 2020 and in 2022 had a breakout stint with the Cairns Taipans.

For the Canadian actor, see Benjamin Ayres. For the Amsterdam-based instrument-maker, see Benjamin Ayres (instrument maker).

Ben Ayre
Ayre with the Cairns Taipans in 2022
No. 10 – S.E. Melbourne Phoenix
PositionGuard
LeagueNBL
Personal information
Born (1995-12-08) 8 December 1995
Victoria, Australia
Listed height184 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Listed weight80 kg (176 lb)
Career information
High schoolDe La Salle College
(Melbourne, Victoria)
College
NBA draft2019: undrafted
Playing career2019–present
Career history
2019Nunawading Spectres
2019–2020Adelaide 36ers
2020BC Mažeikiai
2021Knox Raiders
2021–2023Cairns Taipans
2022Cairns Marlins
2023Sandringham Sabres
2023–presentSouth East Melbourne Phoenix
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Ayre was born in the Australian state of Victoria.[2] He attended De La Salle College in Melbourne.[3]

College career

Ayre moved to the United States in 2015 to attend Skagit Valley College.[3] He played two seasons of college basketball for the Cardinals, earning second-team All-NWAC North Region in both 2016 and 2017[4] and averaged 15.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3 assists per game.[3]

In 2017, Ayre transferred to Newman University and played the next two seasons for the Jets.[3] He averaged 13.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 3.9 assists in 27 games in 2017–18, and 12.9 points, 3.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 29 games in 2018–19.[3] He was named second-team All-Heartland Conference as a senior.[5]

Professional career

On 21 May 2019, Ayre signed with the Nunawading Spectres for the rest of the 2019 NBL1 season.[6][7] He helped the Spectres reach the grand final, where they won the championship with a 99–90 win over the Bendigo Braves.[8] In 15 games, he averaged 4.8 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game.[9]

In August 2019, Ayre signed with the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League (NBL) as a development player.[2] He appeared in two games for the 36ers during the 2019–20 NBL season.[9]

On 6 September 2020, Ayre signed with BC Mažeikiai of the Lithuanian Basketball League.[10] Due to family reasons, he left the team and returned to Australia on 22 November 2020.[11] In eight games during the 2020–21 LKL season, he averaged 9.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.[9]

For the 2021 NBL1 South season, Ayre joined the Knox Raiders. In 11 games, he averaged 12.0 points, 2.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game.[12]

For the 2021–22 NBL season, Ayre joined the Cairns Taipans as a training player.[13] He was set to be Scott Machado's injury replacement early in the season, but a nasty knee injury from an innocuous rebound drill at practice put him on the sidelines for two months.[14] He was elevated to the roster for the first time on 1 April 2022.[13] On 18 April 2022, in just his sixth appearance for the Taipans,[15] Ayre scored a team-high 20 points to go with 10 assists, four rebounds, three steals and four 3-pointers in a 92–80 loss to Melbourne United.[16] He became just the third player in 2021–22 to record 20 points and 10 assists in a game alongside Bryce Cotton and Jaylen Adams.[17] In eight games for the Taipans, he averaged 6.63 points, 1.75 rebounds and 3.75 assists per game.[18]

On 23 April 2022, Ayre signed with the Cairns Marlins for the 2022 NBL1 North season.[19] In 21 games, he averaged 23.9 points, 3.76 rebounds and 4.05 assists per game.[20]

On 21 July 2022, Ayre signed a two-year deal (second year club option) with the Taipans.[21] He parted ways with the Taipans following the 2022–23 NBL season after the club elected not to take the option on his contract.[22] In 32 games, he averaged 5.8 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.[23]

On 14 April 2023, Ayre signed with the Sandringham Sabres for the rest of the 2023 NBL1 South season.[24] He went on to earn NBL1 South All-Star Five honours.[25] He helped the Sabres reach the grand final, where they lost 90–86 to the Knox Raiders despite his 21 points.[26]

On 2 May 2023, Ayre signed a two-year deal with the South East Melbourne Phoenix.[27]

References
  1. "2020/21 m. komanda". bcmazeikiai.lt (in Lithuanian). Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  2. "Adelaide Confirm Development Players". NBL.com.au. 12 August 2019. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023.
  3. "Ben Ayre". newmanjets.com. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  4. "Ayre and Kidd Earn All-Region Honors". newmanjets.com. 15 March 2017. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  5. "2018-19 ALL-HEARTLAND MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM" (PDF). Heartland Conference. 6 March 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  6. "SPECTRES ADD SOME AYRE TO NBL1 CAMPAIGN". nunawadingbasketball.com.au. 21 May 2019. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  7. "Ayre Inks Professional Contract with Spectres". newmanjets.com. 23 May 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  8. "Grand Final - Nunawading vs Bendigo". NBL1.com.au. 17 August 2019. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
  9. "Ben Ayre". australiabasket.com. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  10. ""Erelių" komandoje – pirmasis legionierius". bcmazeikiai.lt (in Lithuanian). 6 September 2020. Archived from the original on 25 September 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  11. "B. Ayre palieka Mažeikius". bcmazeikiai.lt (in Lithuanian). 22 November 2020. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  12. "Benjamin Ayre". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  13. "Taipans Injury Report - Round 18". taipans.com. 1 April 2022. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  14. Pike, Chris (21 April 2022). "Ayre's Family Daily Habits Kept Him Ready for NBL Dream". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  15. "United Overpower Taipans to Claim Regular Season Championship". NBL.com.au. 18 April 2022. Archived from the original on 18 April 2022. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  16. "United vs Taipans". fibalivestats.com. 18 April 2022. Archived from the original on 20 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  17. "OK, BEN AYRE". twitter.com/NBL. 19 April 2022. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  18. "Ben Ayre". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  19. "Ben Ayre signs with Cairns Marlins". taipans.com. 23 April 2022. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2022.
  20. "Benjamin Ayre". NBL1.com.au. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  21. "Taipans Sign Ben Ayre to Two-Year Deal". NBL.com.au. 21 July 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  22. "2023 Taipans Free Agency". Taipans.com. 27 March 2023. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  23. "Ben Ayre". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023.
  24. "Ben Ayre signs with Sandringham Sabres". NBL1.com.au. 14 April 2023. Archived from the original on 14 April 2023.
  25. "NBL1 South 2023 Awards Night Recap". NBL1.com.au. 12 August 2023. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  26. "NBL1 South Recap | Men's Grand Final 2023". NBL1.com.au. 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  27. "Phoenix Signs Ben Ayre for Two Years". semphoenix.com.au. 2 May 2023. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023.
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