City of Birmingham Rockets are delighted to confirm the return of men’s first team captain, Martyn Gayle, ahead of the 2025/26 British Championship Basketball (BCB) season.
Martyn enters his fourth season back at Rockets on the back of a record breaking 2024/25 campaign, where he became the first player in league history to score 500 three pointers in NBL Division One.
The story so far…
Martyn returned to Rockets in the summer of 2022 to spearhead our promotion charge from the old Division Two up to Division One (now British Championship Basketball), culminating in that dramatic playoff final win against St Helens Saints at the National Basketball Performance Centre in Manchester.
He finished the season with the playoff finals MVP and the 2022/23 Division Two Coach of the Year award on the back of a stellar campaign, with Rockets sweeping all before them en-route to promotion to NBL Division One.
Our first season after promotion saw the team narrowly miss out on a playoff place, finishing one place short of the playoff cutoff with a 9-15 record.
Last summer saw the appointment of a new head coach, Charles Smith, who Martyn knew from his time at Newcastle Knights where Smith was assistant coach before joining Rockets.
Despite a strong start to the campagin, Rockets once again finished with a 9-15 record, again, just missing out on the playoffs – this time by a single game as the London Cavaliers piped Rockets to the final playoff place on the final day.
With Ronald Blain already signed up to next season’s roster and a host of exciting announcements set for this week, be sure to stay tuned to see how your Rockets will be linining up as we look to break into the playoffs in the 2025/26 British Championship Basketball league!
“It is always an incredible honour…”
We caught up with Martyn for his thoughts ahead of resigning with the club for the upcoming campaign.
“It is always an incredible honour and pleasure of mine to continue being the captain of my hometown team,” he said.
“This season feels a little more special as we are starting our inaugural season in the newly formed BCB Championship.
“The professionalism that should follow is exciting to see and think of.
“Alongside all the changes to the league, we are excited about the new additions and returning players.
“I hope we can make our city proud and continue to make noise in the country!”
Coach’s View
Rockets men’s head coach, Charles Smith, was quick to point out Martyn’s importance and influence on the wider group as he became the first returning player to commit ahead of the new season.
“It’s great to have Martyn back for another season,” Coach Smith added.
“You don’t replace the impact he has on the court, and you certainly don’t replace the leadership he has in this locker room.
“We aren’t just getting our captain back; we’re getting our identity back.”
Stay tuned to our channels this week to see who else is joining Ron and Martyn on the Rockets roster this season!
