Bamberg Baskets have finished building their roster for the upcoming season, and the final piece is a familiar type of signing for a team looking to lock down the paint. The club announced Monday that former Cyclone Hason Ward has agreed to a one-year contract and will arrive in Bamberg after a July run in the NBA Summer League with GSW Blue.
Ward, 25, stands 6-foot-9 and brings the kind of defensive profile that travels well: shot blocking, rim protection and a track record of making life miserable for opponents around the basket. Bamberg is getting that reputation from a player who has spent time in the NBA G League and overseas, and who most recently played with the Maine Celtics.
In Maine during the 2025-26 season, Ward averaged 10.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 56% from the field. His stint there also included a 2024-25 season in which he averaged two blocks per game and posted five double-doubles.
Ward’s path has taken him well beyond the G League. He briefly joined Umana Reyer Venezia in Italy’s first division in April 2026, and he has also been a standout for the Rwandan National Team, where he holds dual citizenship. At the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket, he put up 12.3 points and 8.3 rebounds per game.
His defensive instincts have shown up everywhere he’s played. With the Scarborough Shooting Stars in the Canadian Elite Basketball League, he once had seven blocks in a single game. That kind of rim protection has been part of his story for years, going back to high school, when he made national headlines by blocking 22 shots in one game against Weaver High School.
Ward’s basketball journey started late. Born in Saint Thomas, Barbados, he didn’t really focus on the sport until a trip to visit family in Massachusetts, where his height caught the attention of a local high school coach. He later moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, and kept climbing from there.
At the college level, Ward spent three seasons at Virginia Commonwealth University and earned a place on the Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team. He then finished at Iowa State, where he helped the Cyclones win the Big 12 tournament and reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament in 2024.
Ward said in a statement released by the club, “I’m really looking forward to Freak City and can’t wait to get started with the team,” Ward said in a statement released by the club. “Bamberg is known for its historic city, its great organization and the great level of basketball played there. The fans can look forward to a team player who loves competition and has a great desire to achieve something in the coming season.”
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