Jaylen Jowan D. Bland (born March 29, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the ABC Fighters of the Road to BAL. He played college basketball for Murray State, College of the Canyons, and UC Riverside. In 2019, he was named NBL Canada Newcomer of the Year.
| ABC Fighters | |
|---|---|
| Position | Point guard |
| League | Road to BAL |
| Personal information | |
| Born | March 29, 1993 |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Listed weight | 205 lb (93 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school | |
| College |
|
| NBA draft | 2016: undrafted |
| Playing career | 2016–present |
| Career history | |
| 2016–2017 | Salt Lake City Stars |
| 2017–2018 | AB Contern |
| 2018 | Caballeros de Culiacán |
| 2018–2019 | Sudbury Five |
| 2019 | Fraser Valley Bandits |
| 2019–2020 | Sudbury Five |
| 2021–2022 | Wisconsin Herd |
| 2022–2023 | Sudbury Five |
| 2023 | Halcones de Ciudad Obregón |
| 2023–2024 | Tenuun Olziy Metal |
| 2024 | Windsor Express |
| 2024–present | ABC Fighters |
| Career highlights and awards | |
College career
editBland signed with Murray State out of high school but decided to transfer after averaging 1.7 points per game as a freshman.[1] Bland played one season at College of the Canyons before joining UC Riverside.[2] Bland holds the UCR program record with 118 3-pointers in a season. As a senior, Bland was fourth in Division I in made 3-pointers. He was named second-team all-Big West after averaging 16.1 points per game, shooting .404 percent from behind the arc.[3]
Professional career
editBland played for the Salt Lake City Stars of the NBA G League after being drafted 15th overall in the D League draft.[3] He averaged 5.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game in 39 games. In August 2017, he signed with AB Contern in Luxembourg.[4] In May 2018, Bland signed with Caballeros de Culiacán in Mexico.[5]
Bland signed with the Sudbury Five in November 2018.[6] In the 2018–19 season, Bland finished ninth in NBL Canada in scoring with 18.8 points per game in addition to 5.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He earned player of the week honors on November 18, 2018. He was named league newcomer of the year.[7] Bland joined the Fraser Valley Bandits of the Canadian Elite Basketball League after the season.[8] He was released by the Bandits on May 23.[9] On November 4, he re-signed with the Five.[10] Bland averaged 24.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per game. He was named to the Second Team All-NBL Canada.[11]
Wisconsin Herd (2021–2022)
editBland was selected with the ninth pick of the third round of the 2021 NBA G League draft by the Wisconsin Herd.[12] On February 12, 2022, Bland was waived by the Wisconsin Herd.[13]
In December 2023, Bland joined Tenuun Olziy Metal in Mongolia.[14] He led the team to an appearance in the finals, where they lost to Khasin Khuleguud.
In November 2024, Bland joined the ABC Fighters of Ivory Coast in the 2025 BAL qualification games.[15]
References
edit- ^ Agnew, Dan (January 21, 2013). "College of the Canyons' Jaylen Bland: Right place, right time". The Santa Clarita Valley Signal. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Ahn, Jason (January 13, 2015). "Jaylen Bland: A welcome addition to UCR". The Highlander. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Steele, Allan (October 21, 2016). "Former UCR star Jaylen Bland picked 15th in the NBA D-League draft". The Press-Enterprise. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ "Jaylen Bland ('16) Signs Pro Contract With AB Contern In Luxembourg". UC Riverside Highlanders. 18 August 2017. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ "TRIUNFO CARDÍACO DE CABALLEROS EN CIBACOPA". Viva Basquet (in Spanish). June 3, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Leeson, Ben (November 21, 2018). "Five's Bland settling in nicely in Sudbury". The Sudbury Star. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ "NBLC Awards". NBL Canada. Retrieved November 30, 2019.
- ^ "Rayson & Bland Named to ALL NBLC First Team". Sudbury Five. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Welsh, Eric (May 23, 2019). "Abbotsford's Marek Klassen comes home to play for Fraser Valley basketball Bandits". The Chilliwack Progress. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Leeson, Ben (November 4, 2019). "'I just want to get a championship' — Sudbury Five returnees, newcomers setting high bar for coming campaign". The Sudbury Star. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ "NBLC Announces 2019–20 All Team Selections". National Basketball League of Canada. June 27, 2020. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
- ^ "2021 NBA G League Draft Board". NBA.com. October 23, 2021. Retrieved October 23, 2021.
- ^ "2021-22 NBA G League Transactions". gleague.nba.com. February 12, 2022. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
- ^ "Metal sign Jaylen Bland, ex Obregon". asia-basket.com. December 25, 2023. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ^ "Jaylen Jowan D BLAND - ABC Fighters - Stats, News, Photos & Videos - FIBA Africa Champions Clubs ROAD TO B.A.L 2025 | FIBA Basketball". www.fiba.basketball. Retrieved 2024-11-20.