Umar Rashid is a former American College Basketball player who moved across the Atlantic to Galway with these hopes of continuing his basketball journey while also documenting his story online.
Umar was born in New York before moving to Georgia, he started playing basketball at 7 years old which led him to playing Division 3 basketball in college in Clevland, Ohio. He explained how playing at this level was very competitive. He played there for 4 years before graduating in May 2025.
After graduating, Umar decided that Galway was where he wanted to continue his basketball career. He signed his contract with the Galway Titans in June 2025 before moving to the West of Ireland in September of that year.
Umar explained how the previous American to play for the Titans had the same agent as him so that was a big factor in moving to Galway.
“He knew this was a good place for me to be, he knew it was a good situation to be as a professional basketball player,” Umar’s agent said to him.
Umar is the only current paid professional on the Galway Titans roster. He explained “there are like specific small things where there is a distinction between me being the professional, versus my other teammates not being professional,” and “there’s another level of expectations that I have to reach, but I knew that coming into it”.
Umar explained how he tries not to let this affect his relationship with his teammates and also his performance on the court, which is important for the dynamic of the team off and on the court.
In recent years, Irish basketball has seen an increase in paid players across the country, which is great for growing the sport and increasing exposure.
Another interesting aspect of Umar’s story is his social media platforms. Umar began posting TikToks while in college, but when moving to Galway he decided to document his new life in Galway.
“Last year I posted a couple game day vlogs and one of them went viral, so I thought if I’m going to start this next experience overseas let me document it, like kind of for myself too, because it’s cool to have a video journal of my life,” he said. This is what inspired him to start posting regularly on TikTok and, so far, he’s gained over 4,000 followers on the platform.
Umar talked about adjusting from life in America to Galway. He explained how Galway felt much smaller than in the States and how he didn’t anticipate things like his accommodation being smaller than what he expected, however he has come to love his new home in Galway.
He also mentioned how lucky he is to have gotten accommodation in Galway, and he was unaware of the housing crisis going on in the city at this time. When speaking about playing basketball in Galway, he talked about how he didn’t realise how much little funding went into the sport across Ireland.
Overall though, he found it quite easy to adjust to life in Galway, saying that the lifestyle is quite similar to that in America and he explained how he found that the people are much nicer.
“I’ve really enjoyed my experience here, the city of Galway. The experience has been so great and the people have treated me so well, I really feel like Galway is a part of me now,” Umar said.
It’s fair to say Umar has settled in well into life in Galway, and he continues to play for the Titans this season with hopes of having a successful season.
You can find Umar on social media where he regularly posts content about his life.
Instagram: @_umarrashidd
TikTok: @umarrashidd
