The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced the results of the 2024 CEBL Draft on Thursday which saw 30 Canadian student-athletes selected over three rounds from 20 Canadian post-secondary institutions.
In March, CEBL announced a draft of a newly rebranded, expanded format Starting in 2024 which includes all U SPORTS Canadian and Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) eligible student-athletes. The CEBL Draft offers a coveted opportunity for the top players in U SPORTS and the CCAA to get a chance to experience professional basketball by practicing and playing alongside seasoned professionals from the NBA, NBA G League, Canadian National Team and top international leagues.
Each CEBL club made three overall selections (one in each round) in 2024 for either returning or graduating post-secondary Canadian players. The selection priority in the first round was the reverse order of how each team finished the 2023 regular season, and subsequent rounds reverted to the “snake format” in reverse order of the previous round.
Some highlights of the 2024 CEBL Draft include:
- The Montreal Alliance has drafted three homegrown players including Ismaël Diouf (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu) with the first overall pick, Bhide Hydara (Montreal) and Reynoldo Robinson (Montreal). He led the Université Laval visitors to the 2024 U SPORTS Men's Basketball National Championship and was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Haidara was named a 2024 RSEQ First Team All-Star at the University of Quebec in Montreal.
- The Brampton Honey Badgers have named three returning CEBL Development players, including Callum Baker, Cole Syllas and David Walker. Baker was a 2024 OUA Player of the Year and First Team All Canadian at the University of Toronto. Walker was a finalist for the CEBL's 2023 U SPORTS Player of the Year award last season with the Scarborough Shooting Stars.
- Elias Ralph, a 2024 Canada West second team 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 picks on returning local players Alexander Dewar (Saskatoon) and Isaac Simon (Regina).
- The Vancouver Bandits selected three home-grown players, including Adam Olsen (Surrey), Jerek Palma (Richmond) and Connor Platz (Langley).
- The Ottawa BlackJacks have selected players from the University of Ottawa, including Dragan Stajic and Justin Ndjock-Tadjoré.
- Malcolm Christie, a 2024 Aussie Player of the Year and first-team All-Canadian out of Dalhousie University, and Coate Thomas, a 2024 Aussie Rookie of the Year and U SPORTS All-Rookie Team member from St. Francis Xavier University, were selected by Scarborough with the 6th and 15th overall picks respectively.
- Ty Donald, a 2024 second-team All-Canadian and first-team OUA All-Star from Wilfrid Laurier University, and Nate Petrone, a 2024 first-team All-Canadian and a Canada West First Team All-Star from the University of Calgary, were selected by the Edmonton Stingers with two selections sixteenth and twenty-fifth, respectively.
- The Winnipeg Sea Bears return 2023 and consecutive CEBL U SPORTS Player of the Year (2023, 2024) Canada West First Team All-Star Simon Hildebrandt from the University of Manitoba with the eighth overall pick.
- The Calgary Surge selected Dondre Reddick from St. Louis. Francis Xavier University with the ninth overall pick. Reddick was a 2024 second-team All-Canadian and a first-team AUS All-Star.
- The Niagara River Lions drafted 2024 U SPORTS Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-Canadian Luca Silas from Queen's University with the 11th overall pick. The team also made CEBL history by drafting Jerry Jr. Mercury out of Mohawk College with the 30th overall pick, making him the league's first CCAA draft pick.
The full results for the 2024 CEBL Draft are as follows:
For more information on each player selected in the 2024 CEBL Draft, please visit the website
cebl.ca/cebl-draft-2024-results.
The 2024 CEBL season kicks off on Tuesday, May 21 at 7pm CT/9pm ET when the Calgary Surge hosts their provincial rival Edmonton Stingers in a nationally televised (TSN) matchup at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Season tickets and flex packages are now available league-wide with priority access to preferred seating and pricing. Ticket information for all CEBL games can be found by visiting the website
Cable.ca/tickets.
– Sibel –
About Sibel
A league created by Canadians for Canadians with the goal of developing Canadian players, coaches, sports executives and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country with 73% of its 2023 rosters being Canadian. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international professional leagues, Canada's National Team program, top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Fourteen players signed NBA contracts after the CEBL season, and several CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps each year. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about CEBL is available at
CEBL.ca And @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, Tik Tok, LinkedIn, Facebook & Youtube.
About U Sports
U SPORTS is Canada's national university sports brand. Each year, more than 15,500 student-athletes and 700 coaches compete in 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provides high-performance international opportunities at the FISU Winter and Summer World Universiade, World University Championships, Universiade World Cup, and various educational initiatives.
Collaborating with 57 members and four conferences, as well as the Canadian Sports System and Canadian corporations, U SPORTS works to grow and deliver university sports to student-athletes across the country.
About the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association
The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association is the national governing body for organized sports at the collegiate level in Canada. The CCAA enriches the academic experiences of student-athletes by providing leadership, programs and services that promote development through high-level competitive opportunities in intercollegiate athletics. CCAA student-athletes compete in seven sports in 10 CCAA National Championships, each hosted by one of the 98 CCAA member institutions (colleges, universities, polytechnics, and corporations) located in nine counties. In addition to administering national championships, the CCAA also provides national awards and recognition to CCAA student-athletes, coaches, athletic directors and member institutions. For more information, please visit the website
ccaa.ca.
