Isaiah Ross (basketball)

Isaiah Ross
Ross with Spójnia Stargard in 2025
Free agent
PositionShooting guard
Personal information
Born (1996-10-24) October 24, 1996
Davenport, Iowa, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight200 lb (91 kg)
Career information
High school
College
NBA draft2021: undrafted
Playing career2021–present
Career history
2021Santa Cruz Warriors
2021Lakeland Magic
2022–2023Lugano Tigers
2023Chorale Roanne Basket
2023Trepça
2024Psychiko
2024–2025Nokia
2025Spójnia Stargard
2025Unión Atlética
2025–2026Hermine Nantes
2026Psychiko
2026Tauranga Whai
Career highlights

Isaiah Leonja Ross (born October 24, 1996) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Tauranga Whai of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL). He played college basketball for the Kansas City Roos and the Iona Gaels.

High school career

Ross attended Davenport West High School. As a senior, he averaged 17 points per game. Ross did a postgraduate season at Hillcrest Prep, playing alongside Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley. He committed to playing college basketball for UMKC.[1]

College career

As a freshman at UMKC, Ross averaged 8 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.[2] He averaged 11.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Following the season, he transferred to Iona, sitting out a season per NCAA regulations.[3] As a junior, Ross averaged 11 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.[1] In the offseason, he worked on his defense and passing, improving his foot speed and lateral speed alongside Chasson Randle, and embraced new coach Rick Pitino's skills workouts. In the season opener against Seton Hall, Ross scored 23 points but "played very poorly," according to Pitino.[4] On December 5, 2020, he scored a career-high 33 points in a 82–74 win over Hofstra.[5] During his senior year, Ross helped Iona win the MAAC championship and reach the NCAA Tournament.[6] He averaged 18.4 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game.[7] Ross was a unanimous First Team All-MAAC selection.[8]

Professional career

Ross was selected with the 18th pick in the 2021 NBA G League draft by the Maine Celtics. Two days later, he was traded to the Santa Cruz Warriors.[9] He was waived by the Warriors on December 5[10] after appearing in eight games.[11] He was acquired by the Lakeland Magic on December 18, but after two games,[11] was waived on December 27.[10] He was acquired by the Oklahoma City Blue on December 30, waived on January 5, then claimed by the Wisconsin Herd on January 6, but then waived again on January 19. He did not play for either the Blue or the Herd.[10]

For the 2022–23 season, Ross joined Lugano Tigers of the Swiss Basketball League. In 25 games, he averaged 23.0 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.6 steals per game.[12] In May 2023, he had a three-game stint with Chorale Roanne Basket of the LNB Élite.[12]

For the 2023–24 season, Ross joined Trepça of the Kosovo Basketball Superleague. He appeared in six league games and four FIBA Europe Cup games before leaving the team in November 2023.[12] In February 2024, he joined Psychiko of the Greek Elite League. In 16 games for Psychiko, he averaged 15.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.[12]

On October 22, 2024, Ross signed with BC Nokia of the Finnish Korisliiga.[13] In 27 games during the 2024–25 season, he averaged 20.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game.[12] On March 31, 2025, he signed with Spójnia Stargard of the Polish Basketball League (PLK).[14] He played six games to finish the 2024–25 PLK season.[12]

Ross started the 2025–26 season with Unión Atlética of the Liga Uruguaya de Básquetbol, averaging 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.0 steals in 10 games, before leaving the team in November.[12] In December, he joined Hermine Nantes of the French Élite 2, where he played five games between December 12 and January 11.[12] In March 2026, he joined Psychiko for a second stint. In nine games to finish the 2025–26 Greek Elite League season, he averaged 16.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game.[12]

On May 1, 2026, Ross signed with the Tauranga Whai of the New Zealand National Basketball League (NZNBL) for the rest of the 2026 season.[15] He left after appearing in two games.[12]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2016–17 UMKC 341017.2.394.376.8331.9.6.5.08.0
2017–18 UMKC 321725.2.400.359.7793.11.0.5.011.3
2018–19 Iona Redshirt Redshirt
2019–20 Iona 292131.0.459.401.7253.21.1.7.111.0
2020–21 Iona 181834.5.455.383.8123.91.41.4.118.4
Career 1136625.7.426.379.7872.91.0.7.011.4

Personal life

Ross graduated from Iona with a degree in communications with an emphasis in public relations.[16]

References

  1. 1 2 "2020-21 MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES" (PDF). Iona Gaels. Retrieved November 7, 2021. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  2. ↑ Rushing, T.J. (April 2, 2017). "Where Are They Now? (Part II)". PrepHoops. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Our D1 #TransferTuesday pick is Isaiah Ross, UMKC". Twitter. June 5, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  4. ↑ Thomson, Josh (December 22, 2020). "Men's basketball: How Iona's Isaiah Ross has thrived under Rick Pitino". The Journal News. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Ross scores career-high 33, leads Iona past Hofstra 82–74". ESPN. Associated Press. December 5, 2020. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  6. ↑ Rholdon, Corey (March 15, 2021). "Former Davenport West Star Isaiah Ross is ready for a March Madness run with Rick Pitino and Iona". OurQuadCities.com. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  7. ↑ "Isaiah Ross: Taken No. 18 by Maine". CBS Sports. October 23, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  8. ↑ "MAAC Announces 2020-21 Men's Basketball All-MAAC Teams". Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. March 8, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  9. ↑ "Warriors Complete Trade To Acquire Eighteenth Overall Pick Isaiah Ross In Three-Team Trade". NBA.com. October 25, 2021. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  10. 1 2 3 "Isaiah Ross Player Profile, Lakeland Magic - RealGM". basketball.realgm.com. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Isaiah Ross G-League Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Isaiah Ross". Eurobasket LLC. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Näädät vahvistaa rivejään 28-vuotiaalla Isaiah Rossilla!". bcnokia.fi (in Finnish). October 22, 2024. Archived from the original on November 9, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Isaiah Ross nowym zawodnikiem PGE Spójni Stargard!". spojniastargard.com (in Polish). March 31, 2025. Retrieved April 1, 2025.
  15. ↑ "SIGNING NEWS | ISAIAH ROSS". facebook.com/whaibasketball. May 1, 2026. Retrieved May 2, 2026.
  16. ↑ Batterson, Steve (January 18, 2021). "West alum Ross learns all he can from Pitino". Quad City Times. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
This page is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.