THE CEBL PLANS TO PLAY

The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced the 2020 training camp rosters for all seven of its teams on Thursday, May 20, 2020. With the addition of the expansion Ottawa BlackJacks franchise to the league’s six founding clubs, the rosters include a record 96 players, 77 of which are Canadians. Here is a breakdown of notable highlights:

The league welcomes 56 new players, added as free agent signees or U SPORTS draftees
38 players return from the inaugural season
42 players enter or return to the CEBL after playing overseas in 40 different countries this past winter
13 players have been members of the Team Canada Senior Men’s National team
18 players boast NBA G League experience
Hamilton’s Justin Jackson becomes the first CEBL player who was originally drafted by an NBA team (Denver, 2018)
5 players played for the Team Canada Junior National team

“Canada is among the world’s top producers of elite professional basketball talent, as evidenced by the number of Canadians playing in the NBA and in the top international leagues. It’s exciting to see so many pros returning home to Canada in the summertime eager to compete in the CEBL,” said Mike Morreale, Commissioner & CEO of the league. “The caliber of play in our league has already been widely recognized by basketball executives and agents as among the highest in the world, and our teams have done an excellent job assembling even stronger rosters for 2020. We’re excited to showcase Canadian talent to fans across this country.”

The CEBL continues to prepare for a delayed start to the 2020 season. With the health and safety of fans, players and staff being the league’s highest priority, contingencies for a new start date and creative formats to play as many games as possible this summer continue to be explored.