The Dayton Air Strikers are an American minor league

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

team based out of

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

. The team plays throughout North America between the United States and Canada. They currently compete in the

Midwest Basketball League The Maximum Basketball League (MBL) is a semi-professional men's basketball league which operates in the United States. History Established in 2015 by founder Michael A. Wright, the Midwest Basketball League (MBL) was rebranded the Maximum Baske ...

based out of Minnesota.

History

Established in 2010, the Air Strikers started as an expansion franchise of the

Premier Basketball League The Premier Basketball League, often abbreviated to the PBL, is an American professional men's basketball minor league that began play in January 2008. The league folded after the 2017 season. It was announced that the league would be revived un ...

in the 2011 season, before competing in the

International Basketball League The International Basketball League (IBL) was a semi-professional men's basketball league featuring teams from the West Coast of the United States. In 2010 the Albany Legends became the first team in the Northeastern United States to join. The ...

as a "branding team" in the spring of 2011. They subsequently resumed play in the PBL for the 2012 season. In 2013, they played in the

Central Basketball League The Central Basketball League was an early regional professional or semi-pro basketball league based in Ohio and Pennsylvania. The league disbanded on November 12, 1912, after playing a few exhibition games. Joseph "Joe" Meech Leithead served as S ...

for one season (playing 6 games and did not return to the league the following season due to irreconcilable differences. During 2014–2015 the team remained active on the Pro-Am circuit playing professional and club teams in the Great Lakes Summer League, and the Ohio Pro Development Basketball Organization hosting and traveling to teams located around Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky. The team announced its full return as a member of the

that started in April 2016. The Dayton Air Strikers went undefeated on its home court going 7-0 holding the record for the longest winning streak. In July 2016 the team became the MBL East Division champions ending the regular season with a record of 12–1.

Season-by-season

Player development

Since inception the Dayton Air Strikers have helped launch the careers of over 20 players, recruiting players from well known colleges such as

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

Wright State University Wright State University is a public research university in Fairborn, Ohio. Originally opened in 1964 as a branch campus of Miami University and Ohio State University, it became an independent institution in 1967 and was named in honor of aviation ...

, and

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 studen ...

. Leaving directly from the team to play internationally in Germany, Canada, Mexico, Dominican Republic, Spain, Japan, Puerto Rico, Iceland, and Saudi Arabia. Players also have gone on to playing for the

NBA D-League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) official minor league basketball organization. The league was known as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL) from 2001 to 2005, and the NBA Dev ...

and the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

. In 2012 four players were drafted internationally to play in the

NBL Canada The National Basketball League of Canada (NBL Canada; french: Ligue nationale de basketball du Canada) is a Canadian professional men's minor league basketball organization. The NBL Canada was founded in 2011, when three existing Premier Basketba ...

including two players selected in the top seven of the draft.

Alumni

Mark Gomillia (2012) -

Oshawa Power The Mississauga Power were a Canadian professional basketball team based in Mississauga, Ontario, that competed in the National Basketball League of Canada (NBL). Established in as the Oshawa Power, they played in the Central Division. The Osh ...

William Harris (2012) -

Brandon Hassell (2012) -

Summerside Storm The Island Storm is an inactive Canadian professional basketball team based in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The team is a charter member of the National Basketball League of Canada that began play in the 2011–12 season. The Storm plays ...

Avery Smith (2012) -

Joe Thomasson Joe Thomasson (born August 16, 1993) is an American basketball player for Promitheas Patras of the Greek Basket League and the EuroCup. He plays the guard position. Early and personal life Thomasson was born in Dayton, Ohio. His parents are Jos ...

(2016) - BC Dinamo București

References

External links

Dayton Air Strikers websiteEurobasket.com team profile
Basketball teams in Ohio Former Premier Basketball League teams Basketball teams established in 2010 Sports clubs and teams in Dayton, Ohio 2010 establishments in Ohio {{Ohio-basketball-team-stub