# SC Rasta Vechta

Sports Club Rasta Vechta is a German basketball club based in Vechta, Lower Saxony. The club plays in the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), following their promotion from the ProA in 2022–23.
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 ever since has been balancing between relegation from the BBL and promotion from ProA.

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

## Honours

* ProA
** Winners: 2012–13, 2017–18, 2022–23
*** Runner-up: 2015–16

## Players
### Notable players

* Brandon Bowman, American basketball player
* Austin Hollins (born 1991), American basketball player for Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Ike Iroegbu (born 1995), American-born Nigerian basketball player for the Hapoel Galil Elyon of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
* Scott Machado (born 1990), American-Brazilian
* Andrew Smith (born 1992), American-Latvian
* Ish Wainright (born 1994), American-born Ugandan basketball player in the NBA, now for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League

## Season by season

| Champions | Runners-up | Playoff berth | Promoted | Relegated |
| Season | Tier | League | Finish | Wins | Losses | Win% | Playoffs | BBL-Pokal | European competitions | 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 | – | – | – | Pedro Calles |
| 2019–20 | I | BBL | 9th | 12 | 9 | .571 | – | Round of 16 | 3 Champions League | Regular Season | Pedro Calles |
| 2020–21 | I | BBL | 18th | 7 | 27 | .206 | – | Group stage | – | – | Thomas Päch |
| 2021–22 | II | ProA | 12th | 16 | 16 | .500 | – | – | – | – | 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) | – | – | – | Vladimir Lučić Ty Harrelson |
| 2023–24 | I | BBL | 6th | 21 | 13 | .618 | Lost quarter-finals (Chemnitz), 1–3 | Quarterfinals | – | – | Ty Harrelson |
| 2024–25 | I | BBL | | | | | | Quarterfinals | 2 Champions League | Regular season | 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 |

## Head coaches

| Period | Name | Honours |
| 2000–2001 | Matthias Weber | |
| 2001–2003 | Thorsten Doeding | |
| 2003–2004 | Michael Canisius | |
| 2004–2005 | Kai Deitermann | |
| 2005–2009 | Geschilderde Scheper | |
| 2009–2014 | Pat Elzie | |
| 2014–2015 | Stephen Arigbabu | |
| 2015 | Pat Elzie | |
| 2015–2017 | Andreas Wagner | |
| 2017–2018 | Douglas Spradley | |
| 2018–2020 | Pedro Calles | BBL semifinalist (2019) |
| 2020–2021 | Thomas Päch | |
| 2021–2022 | Vladimir Lučić | |
| 2022–2024 | Ty Harrelson | |
| 2024– | 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.