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9 October 2026  5 min read

W/EABL Players of the Week (7 Oct 2026)

You can have your say on this week’s selections and give a shout-out to the players you think deserve one on the Academy League channels.

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How it works

Each week, a standout player plus four other worthy selections will be put forward to make the Player and Team Of The Week in both the EABL and WEABL, paying attention to the following criteria:

• Efficiency
• Stats
• Team and opposition strength
• Periods of influence in the game
• Being on a winning team (exceptional performances from players on losing teams will be considered for TOTW)

Players of the Week

The first two Players of the Week of the new season are CoLA's Monife Abidekun and Derby's Casey Burr.

Abidekun played the starring role in her side's 75-43 road win against Itchen, notching a game-high 26 points for the defending WEABL champs as they started their defence with a victory.

Shooting an impressive 64% that included 3/5 from beyond the arc, the CoLA captain further increased her value with nine rebounds and four steals,

Abidekun said: "I was pleased with my first quarter performance against Itchen , and especially pleased with our team's performance pressing the ball on defense and sharing the ball on offense.

"I’m excited for this team and our season ahead."

City of London Academy - Southwark head coach Jackson Gibbons added: "I’m really pleased for Monife, she’s taken on the role of captain this season and for that to be her first performance was great to see.

"She’s a tireless worker and the recognition is great to see."

In the EABL, 2024/25 North Conference MVP Burr is back to his best as he put BMet to the sword in Derby's 89-81 win.

A 34-point, 10-rebound double-double provided game-highs in both categories, with only team-mate David Felix's 10 boards matching the DTB man.

Going 4/8 from range as part of a 15/29 FG outing (51%), Burr is clearly a man on a mission in 2026/27.

Burr said: "It was a great start to the season for both the team and my personal performance. I felt like I was able to get to my spots and implement what I have been working on through summer.

"Hopefully we can carry that energy on into the coming weeks of practice and continue to bond like we have through out pre-season as we prepare for our next test."

Derby head coach Jake Brown added: "It is a fantastic achievement for Casey to have earned this recognition so early in the season.

"His work over the summer and international experiences have really accelerated his development and it’s showing. The thing that makes this even more pleasing is his willingness to play together with his teammates which made it difficult for BMET to truly adjust to stop him.

"A great result for the program and having two players in Team of the Week is a credit to the togetherness that is building in the program.

"I am excited to continue to push Casey to be the best version he can be."

WEABL Team of the Week

Monife Abidekun - City of London Academy - Southwark (26pts, 9reb, 4stl, 34eff)

Holly Welch - Oaklands Wolves (25pts, 11reb, 4ast, 5stl, 35eff)

Anya Williams - Manchester Mystics (18pts, 7reb, 6ast, 7stl, 20eff)

Sally Robinson - Manchester Mystics (15pts, 5reb, 4ast, 21eff)

Sharliyah Sutherland - Barking Abbey (21pts, 3reb, 17eff)

POTW Abidekun slots directly into the TOTW, and is joined by a pair of South Conference standouts and Manchester duo Anya Williams and Sally Robinson.

The Mystics pair helped their side to a comfortable 86-51 home with against The Sheffield College, a playoff team from a season ago, as Williams stuffed the stat sheet at both ends of the court and Robinson also enjoyed a great debut with 15 points off the bench.

Sharliyah Sutherland was the pick of Barking's stars as the Londoners coasted past The Canterbury Academy, and Holly Welch got the nod from Oaklands' one-sided contest with New City College despite a healthy outing from team-mate Summer Wilson.

Honourable mentions

Summer Wilson - Oaklands Wolves (23pts, 2reb, 6ast, 3stl, 29eff, 7/8 3PTs)
Tassimy Cassinda - Manchester Mystics (9pts, 4reb, 5ast, 6stl, 18eff)
Zahara Fossati-Sharples - Itchen College (19pts, 9reb, 2stl, 2blk, 15eff)
Rhianna Addison Obuhoro - City of London Academy - Southwark (17pts, 2reb, 3ast, 3stl, 15eff)
Evie Richards - The Sheffield College (17pts, 8reb, 2blk, 11eff)

EABL Team of the Week

Casey Burr - Derby Trailblazers (34pts, 10reb, 4ast, 34eff)

Kailyn Panchal-Bedward - Itchen College (23pts, 9reb, 4ast, 3stl, 31eff, 5/7 3PTs)

Gavin Mitchell - Oaklands Wolves (28pts, 12reb, 19eff)

Finn Aumonier - HHS Reading Rockets (11pts, 7reb, 6ast, 2blk, 16eff)

Logan Ormshaw - Derby Trailblazers (23pts, 4reb, 3ast, 26eff)

POTW Casey Burr may have grabbed this week's top EABL honour, but team-mate Logan Ormshaw had 23 points of his own alongside a +/- of +24 in the 89-81 win, an impressive mark compared to Burr's +6.

Another new face making an impressive debut was Itchen's Kailyn Panchal-Bedward, who knocked down five triples as part of his 23-point effort against last season's semi-finalists City of London Academy - Southwark.

Oaklands' Gavin Mitchell may have lagged behind team-mate Dylan Gladstone's 22 efficiency outing, but his 28 points along with 12 boards made the biggest difference in the Wolves' 69-57 road win against New City College.

The five is rounded out by HHS Reading Rockets' Finn Aumonier who narrowly edged out both team mates Joshua Johnson and Caleb Alozie in part due to his more balanced 11-point, seven-rebound, six-assist stat line, plus a superior +/- of +11 in the Rockets' 85-77 victory over SGS College.

Honourable mentions

Layjuan Farrell - BMet City of Birmingham Rockets (25pts, 5reb, 2ast, 22eff)
Ashton Billingham - SGS College (12pts, 10reb, 5stl, 23eff)
Dylan Gladstone - Oaklands Wolves (16pts, 11reb, 2stl, 22eff)
Odalo Akhigbe - The Canterbury Academy (15pts, 11reb, 15eff)
Caleb Alozie - HHS Reading Rockets (12pts, 8reb, 2ast, 17eff)

Main image credit - Kareem Lee