Hawks star granted Australian citizenship

The Illawarra Hawks have received a massive off-season boost, with the club confirming that US-born guard Tyler Harvey has had Australian citizenship approved.

ESPN's Olgun Uluc reports Harvey’s induction ceremony is expected to take place ahead of the start of the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 Season, which will allow him to be classified as a non-restricted/local player for next season and not count as an import on the Hawks’ roster.

According to Uluc, Harvey sat and passed his Australian citizenship test at the Department of Home Affairs in Parramatta on Monday morning, with a swearing-in ceremony expected to follow in the near future, ahead of the Hawks' season opener on September 20.

Once the ceremony takes place, NBL25 champion Harvey will be an Australian, meaning he would no longer count toward Illawarra’s three import limit and would be eligible for marquee designation.

Harvey, who became an Australian resident in February 2026, would also be eligible to represent the Boomers as a naturalised player (like Bryce Cotton and Matisse Thybulle have done so previously), but as the FIBA guidelines state, countries are only allowed one naturalised player on their roster for each international tournament.

Under the League rules, a marquee designation allows a team to pay a player's full salary while the contract counts against the salary cap at a lower, fixed figure. The designation is applied on a game-by-game basis, with each team permitted a maximum of four combined imports and marquees in any given contest.

The Californian-born Harvey has spent the past six seasons in the NBL, after debuting under Brian Goorjian during the 2020-21 campaign.

During this time, the 33-year-old has played 194 games for the Foundation Club and guided the Hawks to their second title (NBL25), while also being named to the All-NBL First Team in both 2020-21 and 2024-25.

Harvey, who is contracted with the Hawks until the end of NBL28, has career averages of 17.3 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

Uluc also reports that with Harvey set to become a local player, the expectation is that the Hawks will fill all three spots before their season opener against the New Zealand Breakers on September 20.