The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEL) announced Thursday the results of the 2024 CBL Draft during which 30 Canadian student-athletes from 20 post-secondary institutions across the country were selected in three rounds.
In March, the CEBL announced a new expanded draft format starting in 2024 including all eligible student-athletes from U SPORTS and the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA). The CEBL Draft represents a coveted opportunity for top U SPORTS and CCAA players to have the chance to experience professional basketball by training and playing alongside seasoned professionals from the NBA, NBA G League, Canadian National Team and top international leagues.
Each CBL club made three selections in total (one per round) in 2024 among Canadian post-secondary players who will return for a final season in the university or college ranks or who are close to graduating . The order of selection in the first round was the reverse order of each team’s ranking at the end of the 2023 regular season, then subsequent rounds followed a “snake format”, in the reverse order of the previous round.
Here are some highlights from the 2024 LECB Draft:
- The Montreal Alliance drafted three local players, including Ismaël Diouf (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu), first overall pick, Bahaïde Haïdara (Montreal) and Renoldo Robinson (Montreal). Diouf led Laval University to the 2024 U SPORTS men’s basketball national title and was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Haïdara, color wearer of the University of Quebec in Montreal, was named a member of the first RSEQ all-star team in 2024.
- The Brampton Honey Badgers have selected three athletes who were already ECBL development players: Callum Baker, Cole Syllas and David Walker. Baker, of the University of Toronto, was the OUA MVP in 2024 and a first-team all-Canadian. Walker was a finalist for the U SPORTS CBL Player of the Year award in 2023 with the Scarborough Shooting Stars.
- Elias Ralph, a 2024 Canada West second-team all-star and three-time Canada West champion (2022, 2023, 2024), was selected by the Saskatchewan Rattlers with the third overall pick. The Rattlers used their next two picks to select local veterans Alexander Dewar (Saskatoon) and Isaac Simon (Regina).
- The Vancouver Bandits have selected three local players, Adam Olsen (Surrey), Jerric Palma (Richmond) and Connor Platz (Langley).
- The Ottawa BlackJacks have selected two players from the University of Ottawa, Dragan Stajic and Justin Ndjock-Tadjoré.
- Malcolm Christie, 2024 AUS Most Valuable Player and First Team All-Canadian with Dalhousie University, and Koat Thomas, AUS Rookie of the Year and member of the All-Rookie Team with U SPORTS in 2024 with St. Francis Xavier University, were selected by Scarborough with the sixth and fifteenth overall picks, respectively.
- Taye Donald, a member of the 2024 OUA Second Team All-Canadian and First Team All-Canadian with Wilfrid Laurier University, and Nate Petrone, a member of the First Team All-Canadian and First Team The 2024 Canada West All-Star with the University of Calgary, was selected by the Edmonton Stingers with the 16th and 25th overall picks, respectively.
- The Winnipeg Sea Bears brought back Simon Hildebrandt, 2023 U SPORTS Player of the Year and two-time Canada West First Team All-Star (2023, 2024) with the University of Manitoba, with the eighth overall pick.
- The Calgary Surge selected Dondre Reddick from St. Francis Xavier University with the ninth overall pick. Reddick was a second-team all-Canadian and first-team AUS all-star in 2024.
- The Niagara River Lions have drafted U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year and 2024 First Team All-Canadian Luka Syllas from Queen’s University with the 11th overall pick. The team also made CEBL history by drafting Mohawk College’s Jerry Mercury Jr. with the 30th overall pick, making him the first ever draft pick in league history from the ACSC.
Here are the complete results of the 2024 LECB draft:
CHOICE
TOTAL
TEAM
PLAYER
UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE
TOUR 1
1
1
Montreal Alliance
Ismaël Diouf
Laval University (U SPORTS)
2
2
Honey Badgers de Brampton
Callum Baker
University of Toronto (U SPORTS)
3
3
Rattlers de la Saskatchewan
Elias Ralph
University of Victoria (U SPORTS)
4
4
Vancouver Bandits
Adam Olsen
University of British Columbia (U SPORTS)
5
5
Stingers d’Edmonton
Aaron Rhooms
Metropolitan Toronto University (U SPORTS)
6
6
Shooting Stars de Scarborough
Malcolm Christie
Dalhousie University (U SPORTS)
7
7
BlackJacks d’Ottawa
Dragan Stajic
University of Ottawa (U SPORTS)
8
8
Sea Bears de Winnipeg
Simon Hildebrandt
University of Manitoba (U SPORTS)
9
9
Surge de Calgary
Dondre Reddick
Université St. Francis Xavier (U SPORTS)
10
10
River Lions de Niagara
Jordan Tchuente
Brock University (U SPORTS)
TOUR 2
1
11
River Lions de Niagara
Wound Syllas
Queen’s University (U SPORTS)
2
12
Surge de Calgary
Mike Demagus
Université McMaster (U SPORTS)
3
13
Sea Bears de Winnipeg
Tyler Sagl
Université Lakehead (U SPORTS)
4
14
BlackJacks d’Ottawa
Justin Ndjock-Tadjoré
University of Ottawa (U SPORTS)
5
15
Shooting Stars de Scarborough
Koat Thomas
Université St. Francis Xavier (U SPORTS)
6
16
Stingers d’Edmonton
Taye Donald
Université Wilfrid Laurier (U SPORTS)
7
17
Vancouver Bandits
Jerry Palma
Western University (U SPORTS)
8
18
Rattlers de la Saskatchewan
Alexander Dewar
University of Saskatchewan (U SPORTS)
9
19
Honey Badgers de Brampton
Cole Syllas
Queen’s University (U SPORTS)
10
20
Montreal Alliance
Bahaïde Haidara
University of Quebec at Montreal (U SPORTS)
TOUR 3
1
21
Montreal Alliance
Renoldo Robinson
University of Victoria (U SPORTS)
2
22
Honey Badgers de Brampton
David Walker
Metropolitan Toronto University (U SPORTS)
3
23
Rattlers de la Saskatchewan
Isaac Simon
University of Alberta (U SPORTS)
4
24
Vancouver Bandits
Connor Platz
Université Trinity Western (U SPORTS)
5
25
Stingers d’Edmonton
Nate Petrone
University of Calgary (U SPORTS)
6
26
Shooting Stars de Scarborough
Davante Hackett
Brock University (U SPORTS)
7
27
BlackJacks d’Ottawa
Michael Kelvin II
Queen’s University (U SPORTS)
8
28
Sea Bears de Winnipeg
Shawn Maranan
University of Winnipeg (U SPORTS)
9
29
Surge de Calgary
Noah Wharton
University of Calgary (U SPORTS)
10
30
River Lions de Niagara
Jerry Jr. Mercury
Mohawk College (ACSC)
For more information on each player selected in the 2024 CEBL Draft, visit cebl.ca/cebl-draft-2024-results.
The 2024 CEBL season begins on Tuesday, May 21 at 7:00 p.m. (local time) / 9:00 p.m. (eastern time) when the Calgary Surge host their provincial rivals, the Edmonton Stingers, at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Season tickets and flex packages are now available league-wide with reserved seating and preferred pricing. Ticket information for all LECB games is available at cebl.ca/fr-ca/tickets.
2024-04-11 17:13:31
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