The Wenatchee Bighorns tip off their inaugural season in The Basketball League (TBL) on March 2nd at Town Toyota Center in Wenatchee, WA.   Wenatchee will be the 4th franchise in the Northwest region of the 50+ nationwide league according to TBL president and former NBA player David Magley.

The local ownership group is comprised of Anthony Williams, CEO, Chase Larsen, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Marketing Officer Sterling Fournier.

The Basketball League is entering it's sixth season and is adding the Wenatchee and Seattle Super Hawks clubs for the '23 season.  Other natural rivals will be teams in Salem Capitals and Vancouver Volcanoes (WA).  The Western Conference includes five California franchises; Bakersfield Majestics, California Sea-Kings, Long Beach Blue Waves, Los Angeles Flash and the San Diego Sharks.

Don Sims, is the head coach and has experience at all levels of basketball including 10 years as a professional basketball coach. The team is preparing for the TBL draft in early February in Indianapolis and will announce the roster shortly.

The TBL is comprised of former D1-3 college players looking to start their professional careers or who may have played internationally. Some have played in the NBA and want to extend their careers by playing in the US.  Salaries range from $500 to $5,000 per month according to TBL sources.

Williams said it has been a dream to bring professional basketball to Wenatchee and believes the Bighorns will present an exciting game to watch and fan experience with cheerleaders, live DJ and promotions.  It is community involvement that he emphasizes will be a cornerstone of Wenatchee Bighorns success.  Williams said he saw firsthand while working in education in Yakima how the former TBL franchise (Sun Kings) players were present in school and other community programs and will emulate that involvement here.

"We don't look at our players as athletes and entertainers, we look at them as people that we want to give financial ownership paths to.  We want to treat these young men with the potential that they have  and teach them how to be coaches, team executives and owners" Magley said.  He credits the league mission and values to his wife Evelyn Magley, CEO of the TBL and the first African American woman ever to own a male professional US sports league.

For more information on the Wenatchee Bighorns Basketball club, visit the team website

 

 

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