Harry Kemp (left) with coach Tom Commins.
The twin towns of Harden-Murrumburrah have long been a breeding ground for sporting talent, and the Kemp family are no exception. Harry Kemp, a 14-year-old guard with a tenacious defence and sharp attention to detail, is well on his way to becoming a household name, following in the footsteps of his sister, 24-year-old Grace Kemp, whose rugby career has taken her from the Harden Red Devils to representing the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Brumbies and the Wallaroos.
Currently boarding at Canberra Grammar School to keep close to the action, Harry has represented the ACT in various age-group competitions. Competing against more than 400 basketballers at the 2023 Under-16 (U16) Foot Locker Australian National Championships in Warwick, Western Australia (WA), Harry has since played in the ACT U14 boys’ team in 2024 and returned to the U16 Nationals in 2025.
He will be taking on the 2026 championships this year after successfully making the ACT team. His most recent achievement saw him traveling to Melbourne on 23 January to compete in one of the longest running and largest basketball tournaments in the world. Seeing basketballers range from U10-20 years old, Harry’s win with the Canberra representative team (The Hustlers) at the Eltham Dandenong Junior Basketball Tournament (EDJBT) was just another notch in his belt as he prepares for this year’s championships in July.
Playing eight games across the weekend, the team won by five points overall.
Affiliated with the Belconnen Ramblers Basketball Club, Harry’s dedication to sport is a family trait, with Grace serving as both an inspiration and a mentor. A proud Wiradjuri woman born in Goulburn and raised in Harden, Grace was raised playing rugby union with her dad – a local policeman and player – and her brothers, before transitioning to rugby league in 2023. Debuting for the Canberra Raiders in the NRLW during their inaugural match against the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, Grace has now become a role model for other aspiring female athletes.
Located in Canberra, Harry and Grace bring a piece of the Riverina to the Nation’s Capital alongside Harry’s coach, former Gunners NBL1 star, Tom Commins. Tom, from Junee himself, has taken up the mantle in coaching the ACT team in preparation for the Nationals competition later this year.
The selection process to whittle the prospective candidates into a winning Nationals team began in August 2025, with the final team announced on 28 January. Training for the teen is rigorous, with Harry starting his day at 6.00am for two days of his week to hit the courts in Tuggeranong before school starts, with another training session on the weekend.
Although young, Harry stands tall at 6’8 and is the tallest in his family, with the potential to keep growing. Harry’s mother, Kirsty Kemp, says he is living the dream. “That’s why he had to go away to school,” she says. “He really loved it [in Harden], but there just wasn’t the competition or the opportunities for basketball locally.”
Recently returning from America for a basketball trip with his school, Harry says it can sometimes be hard to juggle nutrition, scheduling and training alongside his studies. In this regard, his sister, he says, has been a great help. “Seeing what she’s doing and how far she’s come, I want to do the same,” he says.
Exhausted but still riding the high of winning, he says the Melbourne tournaments have given him a “boost in his game”. “It was good to see where I was matched up against other Australian players,” he says. “To see what I can and can’t do.”
For now, Harry’s schedule continues to be packed with training as he starts preparing for the championships.
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