One of the most intriguing additions to the Super League Basketball landscape this summer was Australian guard Mitch Clarke, who joined the Newcastle Eagles ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
A product of one of Australia’s most respected state leagues and a former Perth Wildcat, Clarke’s arrival adds another layer of international pedigree to the Eagles’ already storied roster.
Having spent the majority of his career competing in his native Western Australia, followed by a standout spell in NBL Division One with Reading Rockets, Clarke reflected on the roots of the journey that has now led him to Tyneside.
“I grew up in Australia and played all my junior basketball out there before having my first professional opportunity with the Perry Lakes Hawks in NBL1 West in 2017. I worked my way through the ranks there over a few years before joining the Perth Wildcats in the NBL in 2021, which was an incredible experience, before coming out here to join Reading Rockets in 2023.
“I’ve got older siblings, so I used to tag along to their training sessions from as young as three years old, and I was one of those kids that just managed to find my way into joining their training sessions because I was just around it so much and wanted to play with my brothers. They don’t play any more, but I definitely credit them and my sister, who coached too, with inspiring me.”
After arriving in the UK for the first time, Clarke quickly found himself at home with Reading — in a league that has recently become something of a proving ground for players looking to earn their opportunity in the top flight. The Australian connection, he explained, made the transition even more seamless.
“There’s a bit of an Australian link with the club, for sure. Twenty years ago, Jamie O’Loughlin was with the club and he’s a prominent figure in Australian basketball, and then since that guys like Josh Wilcher and Ben Dixon are other Aussies who have ended up at the club and performed well.
“When my agent reached out with the opportunity, the Rockets were keen to make it work from the outset and I was excited to come over as well as it seemed like a great situation and soon became a home from home for me.
“I was very clear when I signed with the Rockets, however, that my ambition was to make it to the top league, and there were great examples at that time of the likes of Aaryn Rai and Taylor Johnson who had shone in NBL Division One and then stepped up to the top level and done well, so that gave me a lot of confidence that the step up was possible.”
His standout season with the Rockets included a strong showing in the Super League Basketball Cup, where Clarke and the Rockets enjoyed a memorable contest against one of British basketball’s most established sides — an experience that helped shape his ambitions for the next step.
“The Cup experience with Reading was awesome for me, personally. I think that format is a great opportunity for BCB teams to be able to play against the best in the country and it makes the competition more interesting for neutrals as well.
“To play against Sheffield, they’re obviously one of the best teams in the country and have been for many years so to give them a competitive game was a lot of fun and showed where we were at as a club at the time and gave me personally something to aim for and aspire to even more, having actually competed against that level properly.
“I think what you can’t appreciate until you’re in that environment is just how much more physical, how much faster and how much more quality the SLB teams have generally in terms of their talent, so that was interesting to test myself against for the first time but I think as a club at the time we were rightly very proud at Reading of how we performed overall in the game.”
Those experiences, together with a hunger to test himself at the highest level, set the stage for his eventual step into the SLB. When the call from Newcastle came, it didn’t take long for Clarke to know it was the right move.
“When Marc called me, it was a no-brainer to come here. We had a great conversation about where I would fit into the program and when you put that alongside the context of what they’ve achieved throughout their history, but also just last season in winning the Trophy, reaching the Play-off Final and the ENBL Final, I was so excited to get to come here.
“It was a perfect storm, really, and it was the first offer I’d had from an SLB team too, so I’m delighted that that came from this club given their history and pedigree.
“I’ve got a great relationship with the Reading fans and the club itself, they’ve been nothing but supportive of the step up. I loved playing at Lodham Valley and hopefully they can follow along a little bit and support the Eagles, too. I’m very grateful for the opportunity I had there and excited to give everything to this new chapter with the Eagles.”