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18 December 2025  5 min read

Elite Academy Leagues mid-season recap

Copleston's WEABL visit to Oaklands yesterday provided the Suffolk side with the final win of the season's opening half, setting the scene for what should be a bumper set of fixtures in the race to March's Academy League Finals.

In the recap below, each competition's name is clickable to view a full list of results, fixtures, and the current standings.

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EABL North

Manchester have navigated through to the mid-season break with a perfect record, going 6-0 to secure top spot.

Magic's October 71-60 road win against second-place Myerscough, which was 'Sco's only loss so far, was a big one, and all eyes will be on their rematch in Manchester on 14 January 2026.

Charnwood's 3-3 record will be a disappointment by their usual lofty standards as four-time EABL champs, though their three losses to date have come against Myerscough and Manchester twice, by a combined total of 11 points.

Derby will be hoping to get themselves into the mix for the #3 spot with the Riders, with the second tie between those two Midlands sides also happening on the first week back in January (14/01/2026).

BMet's Larry Duru leads the EABL in scoring with 28.3PPG, he'll be hoping to push the 1-5 West Midlands programme towards the playoffs, and similarly-placed SGS will be hoping to do the same with their 1-5 record if they can pick up two or three wins in the second half.

BMET's Larry Duru leads the EABL with 28.3PPG (BMet City of Birmingham Rockets)

EABL South

Like their neighbours in the North, the EABL South has an undefeated leader in the shape of City of London Academy - Southwark.

CoLA are 5-0 and still have a pair of ties against winless Copleston plus another against 1-3 HHS Reading Rockets in 2026. Taking all three would push the 2023/24 playoff finalists to within touching distance of the South's #1 seed, and potentially an undefeated regular season.

Defending champs Barking sit at 2-2 and form part of a three-way fight with Itchen and Oaklands for the remainder of the playoff spots as things stand.

All three currently have two losses, and how the trio fare against each other, plus CoLA, will go a long way to determining the final placings.

Barking vs CoLA on 14 January will be a big game, as will Itchen against Oaklands a week later and Barking Itchen on the 28th.

HHS's lone win came against bottom side 0-4 Copleston, suggesting the duo may be hard-pressed to get too many more positive results in 2026 based on their form so far.

CoLA have enjoyed a number of good wins in the first half, including against Itchen College (Kareem Lee)

WEABL North

In the WEABL North, it's been an opening half of two halves.

Current leaders Nottingham Academy Wildcats (4-0) didn't play their first game until 12 November, and last season's finalists Manchester didn't get going until a week later.

That allowed The Sheffield College to get off to a fast start, winning their opening three games to move into an early lead.

Three losses have since followed for the South Yorkshire programme, bringing them back down the pecking order, but 3-3 is still good for remaining in the playoff mix alongside 3-2 Charnwood College Riders.

Milton Keynes 5 Dimensions - The Hazeley Academy, or MK5D as they're more commonly known, won their first-ever WEABL game a few weeks ago after joining the league to begin the 2024/25 season.

Another victory followed shortly after and will give the MK side plenty of hope they can push for a playoff spot in 2026.

Debutants BMet have gone 0-5 in the first half of their first season, but are looking more competitive as the campaign has worn on.

One thing is for sure in the North, there's plenty of basketball to come. With the Mystics playing just three games so far, leaders Nottingham have played four, and only Sheffield (six) having played more than half their schedule, it'll be a fast-paced race to the finish line once the calendar flips to 2026.

Nottingham are top of the pile in the WEABL North, and enjoying life this season (Harvey Steele)

WEABL South

The WEABL South retains some symmetry with it's EABL counterpart, with City of London Academy - Southwark sat atop it at a perfect 5-0.

With an average margin of victory of 24.8PPG, CoLA have rarely been troubled in the opening five games and will be looking to continue that momentum into 2026.

Copleston's 72-64 win over Oaklands secures the defending champs with second spot at the half way point, with 20 points from Angel Whyte and 16 more from Kaiya Bateman being supported by a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double from Holly Ensoll.

Copleston's home tie on 14 January against Itchen, a team the Suffolk programme lost to when opening their season, will be a pivotal one, as will the much-anticipated ties with CoLA on 28 January and 11 February.

Itchen will be hoping to continue pushing Copleston for the second seed, otherwise a fight for third and fourth with Barking seems more likely.

Oaklands are currently on the outside of the playoff picture looking in at 1-3, but with six games still to go, including a pair against 0-4 HHS Reading Rockets, the Wolves still have plenty of time to vault themselves into the post-season conversation.

With just 13 games played and 17 to go, there's still plenty of opportunity for more twists and turns on offer between now and the end of the regular season.

Itchen are well placed in what could be an interesting WEABL South playoff race (Kareem Lee)