WICHITA, Kan. – Former Newman University Men's Basketball player, Ben Ayre has signed a contract to play professionally in Australia. Ayre will play for the Nunawading Spectres, based in Melbourne, Australia, a member of the National Basketball League, which is one of the highest levels of professional basketball in the country.

Ayre had a tremendous senior year for the Jets, averaging 12.9 points per game, while dishing out 4.6 assists per contest. Ayre helped lead the Jets to their first 20-win season since the 2012 season, while helping the Jets finish third in the Heartland Conference for the second straight season.

Ayre played two seasons for Skagit Valley Community College before transferring to Newman where he played 56 career games for the Jets. The Australian native, averaged 13.1 points per game, while dishing out 4.3 assists per game in his two-year career at Newman.

"I'm extremely pleased to see Ben achieve a lifelong dream and become a professional basketball player. I've seen the amount of work he has put into his craft and it's rewarding to see him now playing at the professional level." stated Head Coach R.J. Allen on learning about Ayre's signing.

When asked about Ben's growth as a player and how it's helped him transition to the professional level, Allen mentioned, "Ben has a great basketball IQ, he's very gifted and has a strong passion for the game. His two years with us we really challenged him to grow as a leader both vocally and by example. From his junior to his senior year I really felt that he had made strides in becoming more of an effective leader. I feel like those leadership qualities will continue to blossom as he moves forward in his career as a professional player."

Ayre becomes the second former Jet to sign professionally in the previous two seasons. Ayre's former teammate, Kevin Bryant signed with the Rostock Seawolves in Germany and just concluded his rookie season.