Tommy Rutherford, Class of 2016

Again this year, Tommy Rutherford, Class of 2016, played in The Basketball Tournament (TBT) with a "winner take all" $2 million to be shared by the players and the coaches. (Tommy was on the same team last year, but the team’s name was changed from Eberlin Drive to Davis Steel this year.  7 players from last year's team returned to play this year. Last year, Eberlin Drive lost in the championship game.)

This year, Davis Steel won 4 games in the non-alumni bracket and faced La Familia (Kentucky Alumni) in Lexington, winning 67-59. Off the bench, Tommy played well in both halves!

After Tommy's 4 years playing for UC Irvine, since 2020 Tommy has been playing professionally in Europe.

Bio from the TBT website before the games began.

Thomas Rutherford

Number: 42

Position: Center

Height: 6'8"

Hometown: San Diego, California

Age: 29

College: UC Irvine

Bio: Tommy Rutherford returns to Davis Steel for another TBT run in 2026, off a 2025 season that reached the championship game. A four-year center at UC Irvine (2016–20), Rutherford

earned First-team All-Big West honors in 2018 and was named Big West Hustle Player of the Year in 2019, finishing among the program's all-time leading scorers and rebounders.

Undrafted in 2020, he's built a solid pro resume across Europe, winning the BNXT League and Dutch League/Cup titles with ZZ Leiden in 2023, with additional G League stints domestically.

TBT Career Stats:

2021: Playing for Jimmy V, 2025: Eberlein Drive, 2026: Davis Steel

Games Played: 11

7.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 0.3 APG

Professional Career

2020-21: Racing Luxembourg

2021-22: Starwings Basel (Switzerland)

2022-23: ZZ Leiden (Netherlands)

2023-24: Neptūnas Klaipėda (Lithuania)

2024: South Bay Lakers

2025: Motor City Cruise

2025-26: BC Kalev (Estonia)

2026-present: Jonava Hipocredit (Lithuania)