2021 CEBL USPORTS Draft Reveal Set for April 14
April 1, 2021 - Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) News Release
The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Thursday that the 2021 CEBL U SPORTS Draft results will be revealed Thursday, April 14, 2021 on CEBL.ca as well as through the league's social media channels.
Representatives of the seven clubs will convene through a virtual platform for the three-round draft prior to their selections being made public April 14. The order of selection will be in the reverse order of finish by the teams during the 2020 CEBL Summer Series.
As was the case in 2020, draft eligible U SPORTS players may have completed their university eligibility in 2020-21, or they may be returning to their university team in the fall and be classified within the CEBL's U SPORTS Developmental player program. They must qualify as Canadian, and they must have completed at least one full year of eligibility at their U SPORTS institution. Each CEBL club must have at least one U SPORTS player on its 10-man active roster at all times.
Order for Round 1:
Saskatchewan Rattlers
Niagara River Lions
Guelph Nighthawks
Ottawa BlackJacks
Hamilton Honey Badgers
Fraser Valley Bandits
Edmonton Stingers
Order for Round 2:
Edmonton Stingers
Fraser Valley Bandits
Hamilton Honey Badgers
Ottawa BlackJacks
Guelph Nighthawks
Niagara River Lions
Saskatchewan Rattlers
Order for Round 3:
Same as Round 1
The CEBL led the NHL, NBA and later the CPL in returning to play in Canada after the coronavirus shut down the sports world in March of 2020. The CEBL Summer Series put professional basketball on the television and digital screens of millions of viewers across Canada and around the world, establishing the league as the top Canadian-based global team sports brand. The 2021 season, set to start June 5, will build on that momentum with an expanded viewing audience around the world, and locally through an innovative approach to addressing the uncertainties due to the pandemic around having fans in arenas across the league.
A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 80 percent of its 2020 rosters being Canadians. Players come from the NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA and U SPORTS programs. It uses FIBA (International Basketball Federation) rules, and player and referee standards set by its partner, Canada Basketball. The CEBL became the first professional basketball league in the world to use the Elam Ending in FIBA competition when it incorporated the innovative conclusion into all of its games during the 2020 CEBL Summer Series.
More information about the CEBL may be found at CEBL.ca, as well as on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.
Quotes:
"There is a tremendous pool of basketball talent all across this country and U SPORTS programs continue to develop so many of our best Canadian stars. With what has been a difficult year for all we hope the upcoming U SPORTS draftees will look forward with some excitement to see where they land for the upcoming 2021 CEBL season. It will be great to see these rising stars of tomorrow making the most out of their opportunity to learn from and play alongside our top professionals in the CEBL," said Mike Morreale, Commissioner & CEO of the CEBL.
"We are very excited for the third annual CEBL-U SPORTS Draft," said Lisette Johnson-Stapley, Chief Sport Officer at U SPORTS. "Over the past two seasons, the CEBL has provided U SPORTS student-athletes the unique opportunity to pursue their professional basketball careers playing in their home country leading to tremendous growth of basketball in Canada."
Canadian Elite Basketball League Stories from April 1, 2021
- Saskatchewan Rattlers Sign Dynamic Big Man Travin Thibodeaux - Saskatchewan Rattlers
- 2021 CEBL USPORTS Draft Reveal Set for April 14 - CEBL
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