![]() Wetzell playing for ALBA Berlin (2022) | |
No. 5–Alba Berlin | |
---|---|
Position | Center / Power forward |
League | BBL EuroLeague |
Personal information | |
Born | Auckland, New Zealand | 8 July 1996
Listed height | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) |
Listed weight | 240 lb (109 kg) |
Career information | |
High school | Westlake Boys (Auckland, New Zealand) |
College |
|
NBA draft | 2020: undrafted |
Playing career | 2020–present |
Career history | |
2020–2021 | South East Melbourne Phoenix |
2021–2022 | New Zealand Breakers |
2022 | Baskonia |
2022–present | Alba Berlin |
Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Yannick Clemens Thomas Wetzell (born 8 July 1996) [1] is a New Zealand professional basketball player for Alba Berlin of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the St. Mary's Rattlers, the Vanderbilt Commodores, and the San Diego State Aztecs.
Wetzell grew up in Auckland, New Zealand. At the age of eight, he played soccer alongside later San Diego State goaltender Cameron Hogg. Wetzell decided to focus on tennis at the age of 13 and achieved a junior national ranking. [2] He attended Westlake Boys High School in Auckland. [3] As a senior in high school, he began playing basketball due to a growth spurt. [4] Wetzell helped lead his team to the 2014 final of the Secondary Schools National Championships, losing to Otago Boys High School. [3] Wetzell did not receive any collegiate offers, so he used an international recruiting agency to connect him to Division II St. Mary's. [2]
As a freshman at St. Mary's, Wetzell averaged 11.7 and 5.6 rebounds per game. He was named Heartland Conference Freshman of the Year. Wetzell averaged 15.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as a sophomore. [4] He was named to the Second Team All-Heartland Conference. [5] Following the season, he transferred to Vanderbilt, choosing the Commodores over Purdue, Baylor, and Texas, and sat out a season per NCAA regulations. [6]
As a junior at Vanderbilt, Wetzell made 10 starts and averaged 5.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, shooting 49.6 percent from the floor. He was a SEC Academic Honor Roll honoree and earned a degree in economics. [5] The Commodores finished 0–18 in SEC play and coach Bryce Drew was fired. Wetzell contacted Saint Mary's assistant coach Bubba Meyer to request advice about a graduate transfer. San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher was informed, and after taking an official visit Wetzell chose the Aztecs over an offer from Texas Tech. He helped replace Jalen McDaniels, who left early to play professionally. [2] Wetzell averaged 11.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game as a senior, and his 59.2% field goal percentage is ninth-highest in Aztec single-season history. [7] He was named to the Second Team All-Mountain West. [8]
On 28 July 2020, Wetzell signed his first professional contract with South East Melbourne Phoenix of the National Basketball League. [9] On 16 August 2020, Wetzell exercised the European out clause in his contract and was released by the Phoenix. [10] He signed with Riesen Ludwigsburg of the German Basketball Bundesliga on 19 August, but rejoined the Phoenix on 14 October after experiencing passport complications with his move to Europe. [11] [12] Wetzell averaged 11.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. [13] [14]
On 2 July 2021, Wetzell signed a three-year deal with the New Zealand Breakers. [15] [16] He was released from the remainder of his contract on 15 April 2022 under mutual consent. [17] Across 22 games, Wetzell averaged 17.7 points and 8.2 rebounds per game for the Breakers. [14] [18]
On 15 April 2022, Wetzell signed with Saski Baskonia of the Liga ACB until the end of the 2022–23 season. [19]
On July 26, 2022, he has signed with Alba Berlin of the Basketball Bundesliga. [20]
In 2017, Wetzell was named to the New Zealand Select Team that played in a tournament in China. [21] He has also competed for the New Zealand U19 Team, also known as the Tall Blacks. [22]
GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game | PIR | Performance Index Rating |
Bold | Career high |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | PIR |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2022-23 | Alba Berlin | 31 | 1 | 12.6 | .519 | — | .707 | 2.8 | .5 | .3 | .4 | 6.5 | 6.2 |
2023-24 | 27 | 17 | 20.0 | .518 | .200 | .667 | 3.5 | .9 | .6 | .3 | 7.9 | 7.0 | |
Career | 58 | 18 | 16.1 | .519 | .200 | .686 | 3.2 | .7 | .5 | .3 | 7.2 | 6.5 |
Year | Team | League | GP | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020-21 | ![]() | NBL | 39 | 26.4 | .556 | 1.000 | .623 | 6.0 | 1.6 | .7 | .7 | 11.2 |
2021-22 | ![]() | NBL | 22 | 32.6 | .594 | .000 | .720 | 8.4 | 1.3 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 17.7 |
2021-22 | ![]() | ACB | 11 | 12.6 | .500 | — | .667 | 2.9 | .4 | — | .1 | 3.6 |
2022-23 | ![]() | BBL | 31 | 17.9 | .599 | .000 | .775 | 3.4 | 1.3 | .7 | .6 | 9.2 |
2023-24 | ![]() | BBL | 38 | 19.3 | .622 | .200 | .677 | 3.7 | 1.4 | .5 | .3 | 8.9 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2017-18 | Vanderbilt | ![]() | ||||||||||
2018-19 | Vanderbilt | 32 | 10 | 18.5 | .496 | .265 | .763 | 3.8 | .3 | .7 | .6 | 5.9 |
2019-20 | San Diego State | 32 | 32 | 27.8 | .592 | .318 | .642 | 6.5 | 1.3 | .8 | .6 | 11.6 |
Career | 64 | 42 | 23.2 | .559 | .286 | .688 | 5.2 | .8 | .7 | .6 | 8.8 |
Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2015-16 | St. Mary's | 29 | 29 | 25.1 | .530 | .500 | .632 | 5.6 | .9 | .3 | .3 | 11.7 |
2016-17 | St. Mary's | 30 | 30 | 31.3 | .501 | .409 | .667 | 6.8 | 1.5 | .8 | .6 | 15.5 |
Career | 59 | 59 | 28.3 | .514 | .420 | .654 | 6.2 | 1.2 | .6 | .4 | 13.6 |
Wetzell is the son of Jenny and Clem Wetzell, who travelled to see him play 12 games at San Diego State. [23] He is the younger brother of television journalist and presenter Pippa Wetzell. [24]
Kirk Samuel Penney is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. He is the all-time leading scorer for New Zealand's national team and he ranks 12th all-time in points scored at the FIBA World Cup. In 2024, he was inducted in the FIBA Hall of Fame.
Andrew James Ogilvy is an Australian-Irish former professional basketball player. He played three seasons of college basketball for Vanderbilt before playing in Europe for the first three years of his professional career. After a season in his hometown with the Sydney Kings, he returned to Spain for a second stint. In 2015, he joined the Illawarra Hawks and helped lead them to a grand final appearance in 2017. After seven seasons with the Hawks, he retired from the National Basketball League (NBL) in 2022.
Alex John Pledger is a New Zealand former professional basketball player. He played college basketball in the United States for Kansas City and Belmont Abbey before playing eleven seasons in the Australian National Basketball League (NBL) between 2009 and 2020. In nine seasons with the New Zealand Breakers, he won four NBL championships. In the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL), he won championships with the Auckland Pirates (2012) and Southland Sharks (2018). He was also a regular member of the New Zealand national team.
Robert Loe is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Auckland Tuatara of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with Melbourne United of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Saint Louis University and represents the New Zealand national team. He also holds a British passport.
Cedric Lamar Jackson is an American former professional basketball player. He played two years of college basketball for Cleveland State University, where he made a notable game-winning full-court shot against Syracuse and helped the Vikings past Wake Forest in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
Tai William Evans Wesley is an American professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Utah State Aggies, where he was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year in 2011. After beginning his career with successful stints in Europe, he made a name for himself in Australia and New Zealand, winning two Australian NBL championships and three New Zealand NBL championships. Wesley also represented the Guam national team on numerous occasions.
Ryan Broekhoff is an Australian former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Valparaiso Crusaders, where he was named an All-American in 2012. He represented the Australian Boomers on multiple occasions.
Patrick Richard is an American-born naturalised Romanian professional basketball player for U-BT Cluj-Napoca of the Romanian [[Liga Națională |Liga Națională] [Eurocup ]. He played collegiately with the McNeese State Cowboys for four seasons before playing professionally in Australia, the Netherlands, Germany, France, Israel, Spain and New Zealand.
Kerron Tyre Johnson Jr. is an American professional basketball player who last played for Spójnia Stargard of the Polish Basketball League (PLK). He played college basketball for Belmont University before playing professionally in New Zealand, Germany, France, Poland, Italy and Israel.
Lamar Patterson is an American professional basketball player for the South West Metro Pirates of the NBL1 North. He played college basketball for the Pittsburgh Panthers.
Cameron Richard Gliddon is an Australian professional basketball player for the Auckland Tuatara of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played four years of college basketball for Concordia University before returning to Australia and joining the Cairns Taipans of the National Basketball League (NBL), where he won the NBL Rookie of the Year Award in 2013. After six seasons with the Taipans, he joined the Brisbane Bullets, where he played two seasons before playing two seasons for the South East Melbourne Phoenix. In 2022, he joined the New Zealand Breakers.
Tai Jack Webster is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Otago Nuggets of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). Prior to playing college basketball in the United States, Webster won a New Zealand NBL championship with the Auckland Pirates in 2012 and an Australian NBL championship with the Breakers in 2013 as a development player. He played four college seasons for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, earning second-team All-Big Ten as a senior in 2017. He played professionally in Germany and Turkey between 2017 and 2020.
Samuel Timmins is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Franklin Bulls of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the Tryhoop Okayama of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the Washington Huskies. In 2022, he helped the Otago Nuggets win the NZNBL championship.
George Earl "Trey" Kell III is an American-Syrian professional basketball player for the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He has previously played in Canada, Bosnia, Poland and Hong Kong. He played college basketball for the San Diego State Aztecs.
Zylan Anthony Cheatham is an American professional basketball player who last played for the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the San Diego State Aztecs and the Arizona State Sun Devils.
Parker Jackson-Cartwright is an American professional basketball player for the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats.
Thomas James Vodanovich is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Auckland Tuatara of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the South East Melbourne Phoenix of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball in the United States for the James Madison Dukes between 2013 and 2017 before having a two-year stint with the New Zealand Breakers of the Australian NBL. He joined the Sydney Kings in 2021 and won an NBL championship in 2022. He won a second NBL championship with the Tasmania JackJumpers in 2024. In 2020, he was named the New Zealand NBL MVP playing for the Manawatu Jets.
The 2021–22 NBL season was the 19th season for the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL.
Izayah Mauriohooho-Le'afa is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Wellington Saints of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He is also contracted with the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). He began his career in the New Zealand NBL, playing three seasons for the Wellington Saints before moving to the United States in 2016 to play college basketball for the Sacramento State Hornets. After graduating in 2020, he played a season for the Auckland Huskies and earned NZNBL Defensive Player of the Year and NZNBL All-Star Five. He subsequently joined the South East Melbourne Phoenix in the Australian NBL and played two seasons before joining the New Zealand Breakers in 2022.