The Rollers return to the international stage at the 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Ottawa, Canada. Australia enters the tournament with a strong recent record, having reached the podium in three of the past four editions.
The Rollers will be led by experienced veterans Tristan Knowles and Tom O’Neill-Thorne. Knowles first represented the Rollers in 2001 and has gone on to compete at six Paralympic Games, captaining Australia at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. The 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships will be his sixth world championship campaign. His career accolades include three Paralympic medals, including gold, and four World Championship medals, including two golds.
O’Neill-Thorne has been a key member of the Rollers since 2013. He was the youngest player to represent Australia at a World Championship in 2014, when the Rollers won gold. He recently added another medal at the 2026 Commonwealth Games, helping the Wombats win gold while averaging 6.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game.
At just 21, Jaylen Brown is set to compete in his first World Championships with the Rollers. Brown is one of Australia’s most exciting young prospects, having already been part of the 2024 Paris Paralympics squad and represented the Spinners at the IWBF U23 World Championships. He averaged 19.6 points per game at that tournament and finished as the leading scorer. Brown returned to the Spinners at the 2025 IWBF U23 World Championships, where he was named to the tournament All-Star team after averaging 22.3 points per game.
Like Brown, Eithen Leard enters the tournament as one of the youngest and most promising players in the Rollers squad. Leard made his senior debut at just 17 during the 2022 World Championships and also represented Australia at the 2024 Paris Paralympics. He later co-captained the Spinners alongside Brown at the 2025 U23 World Championships. Leard also won a gold medal with Rollers teammates Luke Pople and O’Neill-Thorne.
The Rollers will open their 2026 IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships campaign against Argentina on Friday, 11 September at 2:15am AEST. Their remaining group-stage fixtures are against Türkiye on 12 September and Great Britain on 14 September.
Every game of the World Championships will be streamed live on the official IWBF and Wheelchair Basketball Canada YouTube channels.
