Image via Getty/Rebecca Noble
It’s an exciting time for basketball in Canada, with both the men’s and women’s senior national teams advancing to the next stages of their 2024 Olympic qualifying bids, the Toronto Raptors making an ahead-of-schedule playoff push, and a record number of Canadians (including All-Star starter Andrew Wiggins) dominating in the NBA.
This year’s March Madness tournament should only add to that excitement, showcasing the next generation of Canadian men and women looking to help their team win a national title while also raising their own profile and potential NBA or WNBA draft stock.
A record 50 Canadians will be participating in March Madness this year, with 30 male athletes and 20 female athletes competing. Twenty-nine out of the 50 Canadians have represented Team Canada at either the age-group or senior national team level.
Whether you’re a diehard college basketball fan or just tuning into March Madness to watch the, uh, madness, we’ve compiled a list of 10 of the best and most exciting Canadian ballers who will be competing at this year’s tournament.
Bennedict Mathurin
School: Arizona, No. 1 seed in South
Class: Sophomore
Position: G
First game: March 18 at 7:27 pm EST vs. Wright State (16)
Bennedict Mathurin is not only the best NBA prospect on this list—slated to go in the top 10 of this year’s NBA draft—but as the leader of a No. 1 seed Arizona Wildcats, he also has a chance to become the first Canadian man to win a national title since Kyle Wiltjer did it with Kentucky in 2012.
The 19-year-old sophomore from Montreal was the Pac-12 player of the year, AP All-American second-team, and one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year. Mathurin led the Wildcats in minutes (32.1) and points (17.4) this season while shooting 37.6 percent from three, which Mathurin believes to be his defining skill.
“My greatest strength is shooting the ball. It’s been a part of my game for a long time now,” the 6-foot-6 shooting guard told Complex Canada. “And now I feel like I’ve been able to do it at a higher level. Every year I keep improving on that… I’m a shot-maker.”
Zach Edey
School: Purdue, No. 3 seed in East
Class: Sophomore
Position: C
First game: March 18 at 2:00 pm EST vs. Yale (14)
Zach Edey is a brooding 7-foot-4 center from Toronto in the midst of a breakout season with the Purdue Boilermakers, averaging 14.6 points and 7.8 rebounds despite playing just 19.1 minutes per game. In fact, Edey put up a historic NCAA Player Efficiency Rating (PER) of 41.3 this season, breaking Zion Williamson’s 2018-19 record of 40.8. Edey uses a combination of overwhelming strength and impressive footwork to finish at the basket at will, where he finished the season second in the country in field-goal percentage (65.5) and was named an AP All-American team honorable mention.
However, the question with Edey has always been his footspeed, and specifically whether or not someone so big is quick enough to survive against top competition in the NCAA or NBA. So far, Edey has passed every test, including at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Latvia, where he averaged 15.1 points, a tournament-high 14.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, leading Team Canada to the bronze medal and being named to the all-tournament team. But March Madness represents his biggest test yet, as the 19-year-old has a lot to prove to NBA scouts at the dance before making a decision on whether or not to declare for the NBA Draft.
Caleb Houstan
School: Michigan, No. 11 seed in South
Class: Freshman
Position: G
First game: March 17 at 12:15 pm EST vs. Colorado State (6)
Caleb Houstan was the No. 8 ranked player in his high school class and considered one of its top outside shooters, canning 52 percent of his threes at Montverde Academy in 2019-20 (where he was the only non-senior to start on arguably the best high school team of all time, alongside lottery picks like Cade Cunningham and Scottie Barnes). Unfortunately, Houstan has struggled in his freshman season at Michigan, averaging 10.5 points and shooting just 38.8 percent from the field for a Wolverines team that has disappointed this season, seeing head coach Juwan Howard get suspended for five games for punching a Wisconsin assistant in the handshake line. Still, Houstan is pegged to go in the first round of this year’s NBA draft because he is only 18 years old and has shown flashes of scoring potential. And he has the humility to back it up.
“I’m not anywhere close to where I want to be right now. I still got tons and tons of things that I gotta get better at,” Houstan says. “I’m just trying to get better every day… I got a lot of goals that I’m still working towards.”
The Mississauga-native has played and excelled at all levels of Canada Basketball, winning a silver medal with Canada at the 2019 FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship and bronze at the 2021 FIBA Under-19 World Championship. But international success isn’t going to be enough to earn Houstan a high selection in the NBA draft, and the 6-foot-8 freshman could do wonders for his stock by showing out for Michigan at March Madness.
Andrew Nembhard
School: Gonzaga, No. 1 seed in West
Class: Senior
Position: G
First game: March 17 at 4:15 pm EST vs. Georgia State (16)
Fans will remember watching Andrew Nembhard’s steadying hand lead the Gonzaga Bulldogs to the championship game of last year’s March Madness tournament, where they were ultimately upset by Baylor. But with Jalen Suggs gone and center Chet Holmgrem replacing him as a freshman phenom, the Bulldogs are right back to being the top-ranked team in the nation, and Nembhard, who was named First-Team All-WCC, has a lot to do with that.
The senior point guard from Aurora, Ont. is tied for 11th in the country in assists, averaging 5.7 assists to just 1.8 turnovers per game. He also can score the basketball, averaging a career-high 11.7 points per game while shooting 36.5 percent from three, making him a dangerous threat to play either on or off the ball. Nembhard has gotten better every season of his career, even being named to the senior national team at the 2019 FIBA World Cup. But as a 22-year-old senior, this could be his last chance to impress NBA scouts before the 2022 draft, so anything short of a title run will likely be a disappointment for Nembhard and the Bulldogs.
Charles Bediako
School: Alabama, No. 6 seed in West
Class: Freshman
Position: C
First game: March 18 at 4:15 pm EST vs. Notre Dame (16)
Charles Bediako is a name to keep an eye on not just during March Madness, but for years to come, both as an NBA prospect and as a Team Canada player.
The 20-year-old freshman from Brampton, Ont. is likely to go back to Alabama for another season instead of declaring for the NBA draft, but he has already improved dramatically since being a four-star recruit out of high school, averaging 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds on 69.8 percent shooting (and 1.6 blocks) as the starting center for the Alabama Crimson Tide.
Plus, Bediako is one of the most experienced and committed Team Canada program members, playing for Canada at the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup, the Under-19 World Cup, the Under-16 Americas Championship, and the FIBA Under-18 Americas Championship. For a program with such little big man depth, the 6-foot-11 center could be playing for the senior team before we know it.
Aaliyah Edwards
School: UConn, No. 2 seed in Bridgeport
Class: Sophomore
Position: F
First game: March 19 at 1:00 pm EST vs. Mercer (15)
Aaliyah Edwards turned some heads a year ago when she helped lead the top-ranked Huskies to a Final Four appearance at the NCAA tournament after being named Big East Sixth Woman of the Year and named to the Big East All-Freshman Team. And while the Huskies have struggled at times this season, the 6-foot-3 sophomore from Kingston, Ont., has been consistent, averaging 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds in 24.2 minutes per game. With reigning national player of the year Paige Bueckers returning from an injury for the dance, the Huskies might have what it takes to win their first national championship since 2016.
Edwards has the experience to thrive in big moments. She played at Toronto’s Crestwood Prep in the OSBA where she won a national championship and was named 2019-20 OSBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year before going to UConn, and has thrived at every level of Team Canada. She even got the nod to join the senior Canadian women’s basketball team in Tokyo, Japan this past summer, where sht got to compete for an Olympic medal. Still only 19-years-old, Edwards is a name you are going to hear for a long time within Canada Basketball.
Laeticia Amihere
School: South Carolina, No. 1 seed in Greensboro
Class: Junior
Position: F
First game: March 18 at 2:00 pm EST vs. Howard (16)
Laeticia Amihere is a 6-foot-4 forward from Mississauga, Ont. and one of the most versatile players in the dance. As a freshman in 2020, she was part of the first team in Gamecocks history to end the season ranked number one in the nation. Now, Amihere is fourth on the top-ranked Gamecocks in scoring (7.2 PPG), fifth in rebounding (4.0), and sixth in assists (1.2), and head coach Dawn Staley will rely on the veteran as the Gamecocks look to make a deep run.
Similar to Edwards, Amihere also has a ton of experience at the international level, debuting for Team Canada in 2015 with the cadet national team, winning Canada’s first ever gold at the Under-16 FIBA America Championship. She debuted with the senior national team in 2017 and has remained committed, traveling to Tokyo this past summer for her first Olympic Games.
The sky is the limit for Amihere, who could be eligible for the WNBA draft in 2023, where she is already mocked to go in the first round.
Shaina Pellington
School: Arizona, No. 4 seed in Greensboro
Class: Senior
Position: G
First game: March 19 at 10:00 pm EST vs. UNLV (13)
The third and final college player to suit up for Team Canada at the 2021 Olympics, Shaina Pellington is coming off arguably her best college season to date.
The senior from Pickering, Ont. is averaging 10.9 points, 2.3 assists and 1.6 steals for the Wildcats this season, all more than double her averages from last season, when Pellington’s best game actually came in the national championship game, a 1-point loss to Stanford in which Pellington put up 15 points, 7 rebounds and 3 steals.
The 5-foot-8 guard in her final college season will look to have a big tournament for the Wildcats before potentially going pro this summer and likely continuing her Team Canada commitment at the 2022 FIBA World Cup in September.
Yvonne Ejim
School: Gonzaga, No. 9 seed in Wichita
Class: Sophomore
Position: F
First game: March 18 at 3:30 pm EST vs. Nebraska (8)
Yvonne Ejim comes from a basketball family, with seven siblings including her brother Melvin, who has been a staple of the Canadian men’s program since 2013. Like her brother, Yvonne has suited up for Team Alberta and Team Canada whenever given the opportunity, appearing in four different age-group tournaments at the national level, including the FIBA Under-17 Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2018, when she averaged 6.9 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
The 6-foot-1 forward from Calgary, Alb. has broken out in her sophomore season at Gonzaga, averaging 10 points and 5.6 rebounds in just 20.7 minutes per game. She was named the Sixth Woman of theYear in the WCC conference and will hope to lead the Bulldogs on a miracle run at the dance.
Latasha Lattimore
School: Texas, No. 2 seed in Spokane
Class: Freshman
Position: G
First game: March 18 at 8:00 pm EST vs. Fairfield (15)
The only player on the entire list to never suit up for Team Canada, Latasha Lattimore has taken her own unique path to the dance.
After averaging 17.5 points and 9.5 rebounds during her junior season at Toronto’s Crestwood Prep, Lattimore committed to Syracuse University with former teammate (and best friend) Shayaenn Day-Wilson. Unfortunately, Lattimore (and Day-Wilson) had to decommit at the last minute when head coach Quentin Hillsman resigned in the midst of an investigation into his conduct. Despite all the obstacles, Lattimore arrived at Texas and has worked her way into the rotation as a freshman, averaging 3.4 points and 2.8 rebounds per game on 51.9 percent shooting.
While Lattimore isn’t likely to play heavy minutes at the dance, the 6-foot-4 freshman is poised to make a lot of noise throughout her college career and beyond.