Rasta Vechta
Leagues	Basketball Bundesliga
Founded	26 June 1979; 44 years ago (1979-06-26)
History	SC Rasta Vechta 1979–present
Arena	Rasta Dome
Capacity	3,140
Location	Vechta, Germany
Team colors	Orange, Black
President	Stefan Niemeyer
Head coach	Ty Harrelson
2020–21 position	Basketball Bundesliga, 18th of 18
Championships	3 ProA
Website	rasta-vechta.de
Home Away Third

Sports Club Rasta Vechta is a German basketball club based in Vechta, Lower Saxony. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), following their promotion from the ProA in 2022–23.

Founded in 1979, the club has spent the majority of its history in the lower-tier German leagues. In 2012, the team was promoted to the second-tier ProA and ever since has been balancing between relegation from the BBL and promotion from ProA.

History

Foundation

The club was founded on 26 June 1979 as the basketball team of the Antonianum Gymnasium, with former students playing in the team. The name of the club, "Rasta", is a tribute to reggae music because Bob Marley's Rastaman Vibration was playing when the name was decided.^[1]

Recent years

In the 2012–13 season, Vechta won the German second-tier ProA after beating Gloria Giants Düsseldorf in the finals. This season, they entered their new home arena, the Rasta Dome. After winning the ProA in its first season in the new arena, Vechta was promoted to the first-tier Basketball Bundesliga (BBL). In 2013, the arena, which had an original capacity of 2,000 spectators, was expanded to accommodate 3,140 fans in order to meet minimum size requirements for the Basketball Bundesliga.^[2] However, the team finished last in the 2013–14 season and were immediately relegated back to the ProA. In the 2015–16 season, Rasta once again promoted to the Bundesliga.^[3] Just like the previous BBL adventure, the team would relegate again in its first season back.

National playoffs and European debut (2018–2020)

In April 2018, Vechta promoted to the BBL for the third time, after defeating PS Karlsruhe Lions in the ProA semi-finals, 3–1.^[4] In the 2018–19 Basketball Bundesliga, Vechta had an incredible season under Spanish head coach Pedro Calles. Vechta claimed the fourth place in the regular season to advance to the BBL playoffs for the first time in club history. In the playoffs, it eliminated Brose Bamberg with a 3–1 score. In the semi-finals, Vechta was swept by title favorites Bayern Munich.^[5]

In the 2019–20 season, Rasta made its debut in Europe as it qualified for a spot in the Basketball Champions League (BCL). In Group B, the German team finished in the 5th place.

Rasta Vechta won their third ProA titlte in 2022-23, tying the record hold by Mitteldeutscher BC for most championships.

Honours

• ProA
  • Winners (3): 2012–13, 2017–18, 2022–23
    • Runner-up (1): 2015–16

Players

Current roster

Rasta Vechta roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Nat. Name Ht. PG 0 Schneider, Siler 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 83 kg (183 lb) 28 – (1995-08-28)28 August 1995 PG 7 Kayil, Jack 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 78 kg (172 lb) 18 – (2006-01-27)27 January 2006 C 8 Wolf, Enosch 2.15 m (7 ft 1 in) 112 kg (247 lb) 33 – (1990-10-18)18 October 1990 F 9 Ferner, Joschka 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 28 – (1996-01-05)5 January 1996 SF 10 Culver, J.J. 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 77 kg (170 lb) 26 – (1997-12-14)14 December 1997 F/C 11 Lodders, Robin 2.05 m (6 ft 9 in) 107 kg (236 lb) 29 – (1994-11-30)30 November 1994 C 12 Agee, Tajuan 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 104 kg (229 lb) 26 – (1997-11-12)12 November 1997 SF 15 Schwieger, Ryan 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 24 – (1999-05-18)18 May 1999 PF 16 Wolf, Julius 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 102 kg (225 lb) 31 – (1993-01-26)26 January 1993 PG 21 Aminu, Joel 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in) 87 kg (192 lb) 26 – (1997-04-23)23 April 1997 SF 25 Iwundu, Wes 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 29 – (1994-12-20)20 December 1994 SF 30 Flanigan, Chip 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 27 – (1996-04-10)10 April 1996	Head coach Ty Harrelson Assistant coach(es) Miguel Zapata Marius Graf Legend (C) Team captain Injured Roster Updated: December 2, 2022

Notable players

• Austin Hollins (born 1991), American basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Ike Iroegbu (born 1995), American-born Nigerian basketball player for the Hapoel Galil Elyon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
• Scott Machado, American-Brazilian
• Andrew Smith
• Ish Wainright (born 1994), American-born Ugandan basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association

Season by season

Season	Tier	League	Finish	Wins	Losses	Win%	Playoffs	BBL-Pokal	European competitions		Head coach
Rasta Vechta
2012–13	II	ProA	1st	31	9	.775	Won quarterfinals (Ehingen Urspring), 3–0 Won semi-finals (BG Karlsruhe), 3–2 Won finals (Düsseldorf Giants), 2–0	–	–
2013–14	I	BBL	18th	6	28	.176
2014–15	II	ProA	10th	12	18	.400	–	–	–
2015–16	II	ProA	2nd	34	4	.895	Won quarterfinals (Nürnberger BC), 3–0 Won semi-finals (Oettinger Rockets), 3–0 Lost finals (Jena)	–	–
2016–17	I	BBL	17th	3	30	.091	–	–	–
2017–18	II	ProA	1st	34	5	.872	Won quarterfinals (Phoenix Hagen), 3–0 Won semi-finals (Karlsruhe), 3–0 Won finals (Crailsheim)	–	–
2018–19	I	BBL	4th	27	14	.659	Won quarterfinals (Brose Bamberg), 3–1 Lost semi-finals (Bayern), 0–3	–	–		Pedro Calles
2019–20	I	BBL	9th	12	9	.571	–	Round of 16	3 Champions League	Regular Season	Pedro Calles
2020–21	I	BBL	18th	7	27	.206	–	Group stage	–		Thomas Päch
2021–22	II	ProA	12th	16	16	.500	–	–	–		Vladimir Lučić
2022–23	II	ProA	1st	27	7	.794	Won quarterfinals (Phoenix Hagen), 3–0 Won semi-finals (Gießen 46ers), 3–1 Won finals (Tübingen)	–	–		Vladimir Lučić Ty Harrelson
2023–24	I	BBL				–		Quarterfinals	–		Ty Harrelson

European record

Head coaches

Period	Name	Honours
2000–2001	Matthias Weber
2001–2003	Thorsten Doeding
2003–2004	Michael Canisius
2004–2005	Kai Deitermann
2005–2009	Geschilderde Scheper
2009–2014	Pat Elzie
2014–2015	Stephen Arigbabu
2015	Pat Elzie
2015–2017	Andreas Wagner
2017–2018	Douglas Spradley
2018–2020	Pedro Calles	BBL semifinalist (2019)
2020–2021	Thomas Päch
2021–2022	Vladimir Lučić
2022–present	Ty Harrelson