Victorian Henry Sewell commits to Portland for '26

• The 6’9” Victorian centre will join the Portland Pilots in 2026 after a development season with Melbourne United.
• Sewell has represented Australia at three FIBA junior tournaments and Victoria at multiple national championships.
• Portland continues its strong Australian connection

Victorian Henry Sewell has committed to the Portland Pilots for the class of2026.

The 6’9 centre joins a steady stream of Australians that have attended the program under current Head Coach Shantay Lagans, who is about to go into his fifth year at the helm of the Pilots.

Sewell, who will join the Pilots next year as a Class of 2026 recruit, will remain with Melbourne United as a development player for the rest of NBL26, before a final campaign with Knox in NBL1 South before heading over to the US.

Sewell is one of his age group's most promising big man prospects, having represented Victoria in Australia Junior Championships since 2022, including this year, where he averaged 11.6 points and 7 rebounds per contest.

Sewell has also represented Australia at the 2022 FIBA U15 World Oceania Championship, 2023 FIBA Asia Championship and 2024 U17 World Cup.

Portland’s pipeline of on-court talent has included the recruitment of Austin Rapp, Max Mackinnon, Bol Dengdit, Carlin Briggs, Tyler Robertson, Joel Foxwell and more over recent years, and has extended to the coaching staff, with Australian Anthony Serapovich joining Lagan’s staff as an assistant this off-season, helping bolster not only their coaching stocks but their recruitment of talent from down under.

“I’m excited about the Aussies we’ve got this season but generally as a team we’ve got guys that want to be here and are competitive and want to get better every day. It’s a hard working, hard nosed group and Henry fits that,” Serapovich said.

“He’s a high IQ kid, we play a very Euro style offence where everyone’s going to be a decision maker and the ball goes side to side, we play a lot through our fours and fives, so he ticks a lot of boxes there for us.

"He’s an awesome kid. He has a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He’s one of those kids that could’ve been at the Centre of Excellence but for whatever reason wasn’t.

"He’s not salty about it, but he plays with a bit of a point to prove, and has found his way through the different pathways. He’s seen a lot of adversity as a junior and responded well each time which has helped him grow.”

Throughout his junior career, Sewell garnered a reputation for being skilled and versatile on the offensive end of the floor, capable of posting up and stretching the floor in equal measure. It’s a skill-set that will see him logging minutes at both the four and five positions as the Portland staff look to use Sewell to exploit matchups in the frontcourt.

“He’s got the ability to play and contribute for us from year one,” Serapovich said.

The signing also continues a trend of the Pilots recruiting players taking up development or training player opportunities with NBL teams prior to the commencement of their college career, something Serapovich believes helps build habits and support the process into college basketball.

“Being at Melbourne United will be huge for him. We have Joel Foxwell over here now and he’s been massive, and you can tell how much he benefited from that time at United, around guys like Delly and Goulding, you can’t understate how helpful that is. They take them under their wing and teach them how to be pros. The lack of game reps obviously doesn’t help but the training reps will, and Dean Vickerman is a hell of a coach. Henry commented on how much he’s picked up in that environment around the players and professional coaches have helped him learn and get better.”

Joel Foxwell is currently in the US and participating in preseason camp, alongside fellow Victorian Carlin Briggs, guard Riley Parker and big man James O’Donnell. It’s a strong contingent of Australian talent that aims to help the team improve on their underwhelming 12 win, 20 loss year last season.

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