At 6’9″ the latest addition to Newcastle Eagles rebooted roster is Branden Aughburns who joins the club for his third season as a professional.

Aughburns brings European experience the BBL team having previously played in Georgia’s Superleague for BC Titebi and last season at Basket Swans Gmuden in Austria’s BSL.

“I have to give all of the credit to my agent for bringing forward the Eagle’s interest in me”, said Aughburns.

“Prior to that, my knowledge of the organization came from watching friends from other BBL teams play against the Eagles

“I’m beyond ecstatic for being able to be a part of the historically rich winning tradition this team comes from. I’m looking forward to continued success.

“I knew instantly from the first conversation I had with coach Steutel that this was an organization I wanted to be a part of, he’s everything that I look for in a head coach and I’m excited to work under his leadership.”

The power forward and centre averaged 13.6 points, 8.3 rebounds a game and was second for blocks in the Superleague with 1.4 per game, while in Austria he averaged 11.2 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

The native New Yorker from Queens is a dominant physical presence on the court using his strength, length and athleticism.

“Steutel’s coaching style complements my style of play and I feel he will support me to be the best player I could be”, added the centre.

“My goal is to be a contributing factor to a winning season. My role for this year will be the defensive anchor and inside finisher.”

Aughburns’ college career saw him start at NCAA Division 1 Hampton University for two years before he transferred to Iona for a year although he didn’t play. His last two years of college eligibility were spent at Holy Family University in NCAA Division 2 where he averaged 17.3 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game.

“My college experience wasn’t the conventional one, but the lessons I learned along the way, especially at Holy Family molded me to become the man and the player I am now”, Branded said.

“I was given the opportunity to develop and showcase my talents, as well as immediately jumping into a leadership role.”

“Going into year three as a pro, I feel the only way for me to move forward is applying all of the lessons I’ve learned from the previous destinations to become an effective piece of the puzzle here in Newcastle.”

“I hope to bring a lot of defensive and offensive versatility to the team. I’m a competitor by nature, and fulfilling a role required to win games.”

Head coach Marc Steutel’s latest acquisition flies into Tyneside ready to fit right into the Eagles ethos and his plans for the new team.

“Branden is such an exciting prospect and I am thrilled he’ll be suiting up in an Eagles jersey this season”, said Steutel.

“He has made a great start to his professional career, consistently demonstrating his talent and we are looking for him to make the next step up within our programme.

“Branden possesses many skills and qualities that will make him a difficult match up this next season and provides scoring, rebounding and a paint presence to our front court.

Eagles fans will get to see Aughburns in action at the first pre-season fixture at the Vertu Motors Arena on September 9 against Surrey Scorchers and tickets are available on the Newcastle Eagles Box Office.