Following high school, Warburton enrolled at Wigan and Leigh College to study sports while also competing internationally. He competed with Great Britain at the 2014 Under-22 Wheelchair Basketball European Championships, helping them win a gold medal and individually being named the Disabled Sports Achiever of the Year. In the same year, he also played a role in Great Britain's Junior Men’s performance at the Kitakyushu Cup, helping them earn a silver medal. Following this, Warburton made his Paralympics debut in 2016 where he helped Great Britain defeat Turkey in the bronze-medal match. He was subsequently shortlisted for SportsAid’s One-to-Watch Award.