The Saskatchewan Rattlers have re-signed 6-foot-11 Julian Roche for the remainder of the 2025 season. The Saint John, New Brunswick-native will return to the CEBL for his fourth season and add length to the Rattlers ' frontcourt.
“Julian will provide some size and depth at the Forward position,” said General Manager and Vice-President of Basketball Operations, Barry Rawlyk. “He is a veteran of the CEBL who is familiar with the physical level of play in the league and will be familiar to many of our fans.”
During his four-year professional career, Roche has played with six teams in Switzerland, Germany, Greece, North Macedonia, and Canada. He has a career average of 8.2 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and 20.7 minutes in 142 games.
In 2023, Roche signed with the Saskatchewan Rattlers, averaging 4.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists, and 14.2 minutes while playing all 20 games. He led the Rattlers with a team-high 59.7% field goal percentage and ranked third with 0.5 blocks per game. During the CEBL offseason, Roche signed with Paderborn Basket in the German Pro A League. While in Germany, he averaged 6.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 15.9 minutes playing in 27 games. Roche was ranked second on the team with 127 rebounds and grabbed a season-high 13 rebounds on October 7th.
Roche returned to the Rattlers for the 2024 season, appearing in nine games. During the 2024 CEBL offseason, Roche signed with Near East in the Greek HEBA A2 league. While in Greece, he averaged 11.9 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.1 blocks, 1.5 steals, and 28.1 minutes in 23 games with 21 starts. Roche signed with KK Rabotnicki AD Skipje of the Macedonian Superleague, averaging 13.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 1.3 blocks, 0.6 steals, and 25.3 minutes in 15 games with 11 starts. KK Rabotnicki finished with a record of 15-7, holding the second spot in the standings during the regular season.
“I look forward to suiting again in Green and Wheat,” said Roche. “I have seen that the support has been tremendous this year, and I look forward to getting back out there in front of the fans and competing hard for them. It feels great to be back!”
Roche is expected to be in the Rattlers' lineup when they host the Calgary Surge Thursday night at SaskTel Centre.
