SC Rasta Vechta

Rasta Vechta
Rasta Vechta logo
LeaguesBBL
BCL
Founded26 June 1979; 47 years ago (1979-06-26)
HistorySC Rasta Vechta
1979–present
ArenaRasta Dome
Capacity3,140
LocationVechta, Germany
Team colorsOrange, white
   
Main sponsorMiavit
PresidentStefan Niemeyer
Head coachChristian Held
2025–26 positionBasketball Bundesliga, 7th of 18
Championships3 ProA
Websiterasta-vechta.de

Sportclub Rasta Vechta is a professional basketball club based in Vechta, Germany. 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 following their promotion from the ProA in the 2022–23 season, Rast Vechta now plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the first tier.

The Rasta Dome, the home arena of the club

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.

Recent years (2012–2016)

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. 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. 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. 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.

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 title in 2022-23, tying the record hold by Mitteldeutscher BC for most championships.

Honours

Players

Current roster

Rasta Vechta roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Age
PG 0 United States Trice, D'Mitrik 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 30 – (1996-05-02)2 May 1996
G 2 Canada Pandi, Lloyd 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 26 – (1999-12-10)10 December 1999
PG 3 United States Clark, Kihei 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) 26 – (2000-01-25)25 January 2000
SG 4 United States Franklin, Armaan 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 25 – (2000-11-17)17 November 2000
SG 7 Germany Hemschemeier, Peter 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) 23 – (2003-09-17)17 September 2003
G 8 Croatia Germany Dolić, Dominik 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) 19 – (2006-10-30)30 October 2006
PF 9 Germany Sabally, Lamin 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 24 – (2002-10-01)1 October 2002
G/F 10 United States Edler-Davis, Justin 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 28 – (1998-02-09)9 February 1998
G/F 11 United States Lewis, Matt 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) 27 – (1998-12-21)21 December 1998
PG 12 United States Kuhse, Tommy 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 28 – (1998-01-05)5 January 1998
PF 14 Germany Herkenhoff, Philipp 2.09 m (6 ft 10 in) 27 – (1999-06-29)29 June 1999
SF 15 Germany Trettin, Linus 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 21 – (2005-05-16)16 May 2005
C 21 Germany Pleiß, Tibor 2.21 m (7 ft 3 in) 36 – (1989-11-02)2 November 1989
SF 22 United States Sueing, Justice 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 27 – (1999-03-15)15 March 1999
C 23 Germany Thiemann, Lars 2.16 m (7 ft 1 in) 26 – (2000-05-22)22 May 2000
SG 77 Austria Germany Lanmüller, Timo 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) 25 – (2001-03-17)17 March 2001
Head coach
  • Germany Christian Held
Assistant coach(es)
  • Germany Marius Graf
  • Germany Harm-Ubbo Horst
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Updated: October 10, 2026

Notable players

Season by season

Champions Runners-up Playoff berth Promoted Relegated
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		 – – Spain Pedro Calles
2019–20 I BBL 9th 12 9 .571 – Round of 16 3 Champions LeagueRegular Season Spain Pedro Calles
2020–21 I BBL 18th 7 27 .206 – Group stage – Germany Thomas Päch
2021–22 II ProA 12th 16 16 .500 – – – Serbia 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)		 – – Serbia Vladimir Lučić
United States Ty Harrelson
2023–24 I BBL 6th 21 13 .618 Lost quarter-finals (Chemnitz), 1–3 Quarterfinals – United States Ty Harrelson
2024–25 I BBL 12th 16 16 .500 – Quarterfinals 2 Champions LeagueRegular season Austria Martin Schiller
2025–26 I BBL 7th 17 17 .500 Lost quarter-finals (Berlin), 2–3 Quarterfinals 4 Europe CupRegular season Austria Martin Schiller
2026–27 I BBL – 2 Champions League Austria Martin Schiller

European record

Season Achievement Record Notes
Basketball Champions League
2019–20 Regular Season 6–8 5th place in Group B with Włocławek, Antwerp Giants, Hapoel Jerusalem, Élan Béarnais, Burgos, AEK and Bandırma
2024–25 Regular Season 1–5 4th place in Group D with ERA Nymburk, Galatasaray and Promitheas

Head coaches

Period Name Honours
2000–2001Germany Matthias Weber
2001–2003Germany Thorsten Doeding
2003–2004Germany Michael Canisius
2004–2005Germany Kai Deitermann
2005–2009Germany Geschilderde Scheper
2009–2014Germany Pat Elzie
2014–2015Germany Stephen Arigbabu
2015Germany Pat Elzie
2015–2017Germany Andreas Wagner
2017–2018Germany Douglas Spradley
2018–2020Spain Pedro CallesBBL semifinalist (2019)
2020–2021Germany Thomas Päch
2021–2022Serbia Vladimir Lučić
2022–2024United StatesAustralia Ty Harrelson
2024–Austria Martin Schiller

SC Rasta Vechta II

The second team of Rasta Vechta plays in the ProA, the German second division.

Current roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

SC Rasta Vechta II roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.Nat.NameHt.Wt.Age
PG 3 Germany Bayram, Kaya 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) 83 kg (183 lb) 22 – (2004-02-23)23 February 2004
SG 5 Netherlands Bernardina, Djairo 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) 76 kg (168 lb) 19 – (2007-06-12)12 June 2007
SF 6 Germany Slooten, Luc van 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) 111 kg (245 lb) 24 – (2002-04-17)17 April 2002
SF 7 United States House, Luke 1.95 m (6 ft 5 in) 100 kg (220 lb) 25 – (2001-02-14)14 February 2001
PG 8 Germany Grüß, Moritz 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) 78 kg (172 lb) 18 – (2008-09-30)30 September 2008
PG 10 Germany Smit, Kevin 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 35 – (1991-04-06)6 April 1991
PF 11 Germany Bühner, Karl 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) 106 kg (234 lb) 21 – (2005-05-23)23 May 2005
PF 12 United States Sleva, Domenick 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) 91 kg (201 lb) 28 – (1998-09-15)15 September 1998
SF 13 Germany Petric, Marko 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 18 – (2008-04-21)21 April 2008
PF 14 Germany Ruf, Linus 2.11 m (6 ft 11 in) 121 kg (267 lb) 21 – (2005-07-21)21 July 2005
SF 15 Germany Trettin, Linus 2.02 m (6 ft 8 in) 89 kg (196 lb) 21 – (2005-05-16)16 May 2005
C 16 Germany Lastring, Fynn 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) 90 kg (198 lb) 19 – (2007-05-11)11 May 2007
PG 24 Germany Krupnikas, Roy 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) 84 kg (185 lb) 20 – (2006-10-12)12 October 2006
PF 29 United States Carr, Phillip 2.03 m (6 ft 8 in) 93 kg (205 lb) 31 – (1995-10-20)20 October 1995
C 44 Germany Bacak, Marko 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) 114 kg (251 lb) 30 – (1995-11-14)14 November 1995
SG 71 Denmark Klussmann, Jonathan 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) 88 kg (194 lb) 24 – (2002-10-06)6 October 2002
Head coach

Germany Hendrik Gruhn

Assistant coach(es)

Germany Harm-Ubbo Horst

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • Injured Injured
Updated: 24 December 2024

References

  1. ↑ "Reggae, Kult und Basketball: RASTA Vechta überrascht alle". fr.de. 8 January 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2020.
  2. ↑ "RASTA-DOME wird bereits nach einem Jahr erweitert". SC Rasta Vechta. 27 February 2013. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  3. ↑ Rasta Vechta macht Bundesliga-Aufstieg perfekt
  4. ↑ "Basketball Bundesliga: Rasta Vechta macht Aufstieg perfekt!".
  5. ↑ "Sweet Sweep! München steht nach 95:80 gegen Vechta im Finale / 38 Zähler von T.J. Bray zu wenig". easycredit-bbl.de. Retrieved 9 June 2019.