Humphries sets himself a goal and he will stick to it

When Shayne Humphries sets himself a goal you can have no doubt he will stick to it, and he did just that when he set out to compete at the Commonwealth Games last year. <i>(Image: jeff holmes/JSHPIX)</i>
When Shayne Humphries sets himself a goal you can have no doubt he will stick to it, and he did just that when he set out to compete at the Commonwealth Games last year. (Image: jeff holmes/JSHPIX)
This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald.

When Shayne Humphries sets himself a goal you can have no doubt he will stick to it, and he did just that when he set out to compete at the Commonwealth Games last year.

The 20-year-old wheelchair basketball player won silver at the FISU World University Games last September before vowing to make the Team Scotland squad to compete at Glasgow 2026.

And now, less than 12 months on, Humphries will make his debut at the Games having been officially selected to Scotland’s 3x3 wheelchair basketball squad.

“It feels really good being able to make sure I’m keeping my goals,” said the Dundee native.

“A lot of people say they want to be playing at this level and there’s a lot of people that want to play at the Commies.

“So the fact that I’ve been able to make that opportunity for myself, I’m quite happy with it.

“Especially continuing after the World University Games having said I want to make sure I go to this one after my performance there.”

Humphries studies BSc Sport and Exercise Science at the University of Stirling and represented GB Students on the world stage, securing their first-ever para medal.

They beat the likes of hosts Germany, and the United States before narrowly losing 11-8 in the final to favourites Spain.

And it has provided invaluable experience for the Lothian Phoenix player ahead of a home Championships this summer.

“It was a really fun tournament,” he said. “That was my first big international tournament and it was phenomenal.

“Playing Germany with them being the home team is the loudest game I’ve ever played in by a mile and I’m hoping we get that support in Glasgow.

“It’s going to be really, really fun having that on our side. I know I can play in that environment now and that makes me feel pretty good knowing that we’re going to be the ones the crowd are cheering for.”

Humphries started wheelchair basketball at the age of 12 at hometown club, the Dundee Dragons.

And after moving up to the under-18s and coming out of his shell on the court, a switch south to Phoenix put his career on an upwards trajectory.

His club’s home city is just an hour away from this summer’s host city of Glasgow, with the home tournament set to make his debut at the historic multi-sport event all the more special for him and his family.

“There’s nothing like it, especially being in Glasgow,” he said.

“Originally it was meant to be in Victoria and I was happy with that because I have some family in Australia but then it ended up moving to Glasgow and I was like, ‘Well that’s even better.’

“It’s home. I’ve never really had anything like that in being the proper home team, especially with a big crowd so it’s going to be really fun. It means a lot.”

Follow Team Scotland's journey at Glasgow 2026 at @team_scotland on Instagram

Get involved
with the news

Send your news & photos