When to Order Basketball and Wrestling Jerseys This Winter
Basketball and wrestling season tip off before most teams have jerseys in hand. If your roster is finalized, this is the week to order — not the week before the first tournament.
Why "Winter" Means "Order Now"
Custom jerseys take 3–8 weeks from art approval to delivery, depending on roster size and whether names and numbers are added. Basketball and wrestling seasons typically start in November, which means orders placed in late September and October are the ones that show up on time. Wait until November to ask, and you're choosing between rush fees and a team that plays its first few games in practice jerseys.
Screen Printing Handles the Team Design
Team logos, sponsor names, and school branding on jerseys are screen printed — that's the right method for bold, solid-color graphics on game-day fabric, and it holds up through a full season of washes. Screen printing has a 12-piece minimum, which almost any roster clears once you count starters, bench, and a couple of spares for mid-season additions. Ordering the full roster in one run also means everyone's design lines up exactly, with no mismatched print batches.
Names and Numbers Are Heat-Pressed Vinyl — Always
Here's the part teams get wrong every year: player names and numbers are never screen printed. They're heat-pressed vinyl, full stop — it's the only method that gives you crisp, individual numbers per player without cutting a separate screen for every digit combination on the roster. If a supplier offers to screen print your numbers, that's a sign they don't actually do team jerseys often. Vinyl numbers also mean easy substitutions if a player's number or the roster changes right up until the season starts.
A Simple Timeline That Works
- Now through early October: Finalize the roster, sizes, and design. Submit for a free digital proof.
- Mid-October: Approve art. New designs carry a one-time set-up fee for the screens; if you're reordering last year's exact design, that fee doesn't apply — the art's already on file.
- Late October: Production and vinyl name/number application.
- Early-to-mid November: Jerseys delivered, ahead of the first game.
If your team already ran a jersey order with us in a prior season and the design isn't changing, tell us that up front — reorders using the same art skip the set-up fee entirely, which is one of the easier ways to keep winter sports budgets in check.
Redding-Area Teams, Take Note
For Shasta County leagues and school programs, this same window applies whether you're in Redding proper or out toward Anderson, Palo Cedro, or Red Bluff — the production timeline doesn't change with distance, but the earlier you lock in sizes, the more buffer you have if a shipment needs a reprint.
We covered the fall-sports version of this timing in our fall jersey ordering guide, and if you want the full rundown on managing a team order from roster to delivery, check our coach's guide to ordering jerseys.
Ready to get your roster sizes and design over to us? Get a free quote and we'll have proofs back to you fast.