Ottawa, ON – With the U SPORTS basketball season coming to a close, the next stop for some of the top U SPORTS athletes is the CEBL through what’s been known as the CEBL-U SPORTS draft.
That process officially has a few updates.
The CEBL announced on Tuesday that had made several updates to it’s annual draft that sees eligible U SPORTS athletes selected to join CEBL teams on developmental contracts through the summer CEBL season before returning to their program (if they have eligibility) in the fall.
Perhaps the biggest change the CEBL announced is that the draft will now feature eligible U SPORTS players as well as eligible playes from the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) the level below U SPORTS competition.
As such the draft has been rebranded from the CEBL-USPORTS draft to just the CEBL Draft.
Other announcements include an amendment that a team can have up to three developmental contracts that will not count against their per-game salary cap. As well the draft has been expanded to a total of three rounds and 30 selections.
Past winners of the U SPORTS player of the year in the CEBL include former Windsor Lancer Thomas Kennedy who won it in 2022 and the University of Manitoba’s Simon Hildebrandt who earned the honour in 2023.
The 2024 CEBL Draft will be announced on April 11, 2024 and the 2024 CEBL season will tipoff on May 21, 2024 when the Calgary Surge host the Edmonton Stingers in their “Surge to the Dome” event at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary.