Windsor's Sam, MVP Rhooms headline 11 OUA selections in 2025 CEBL Draft
Burlington, Ont. - After an impressive season with the Windsor Lancers, third team all-star Yohann Sam was the OUA’s first selection (second overall) as part of the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) Draft on Thursday night.
Heading to his local team, the Brampton, Ont. product was selected by the Brampton Honey Badgers after averaging 18.3 points and 6.2 rebounds with the Lancers in 2024-25 and helping lead his squad to a playoff appearance.
Sam became the first of 11 OUA draftees who had their names called in this year’s class of 30 total draftees, including another three in the first round alone.
Continuing his time in Ottawa, Gee-Gees forward Justin Ndjock-Tadjoré, the Wilson Cup player of the game, was selected fourth overall by the Ottawa BlackJacks. Ndjock-Tadjoré had an impressive conference campaign for the OUA champion Gee-Gees, capping it off with a game-high 29 points in the Wilson Cup finale.
Rounding out the OUA contingent in the first round of the draft are back-to-back selections from the TMU Bold, including David Walker and league MVP Aaron Rhooms going seventh and eighth to the Scarborough Shooting Stars and Edmonton Stingers, respectively.
Rhooms, in his OUA MVP-winning season, produced a per-game total of 22 points to lead the the province in scoring and finish third best in the nation. The fourth-year guard shot 46.7 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from beyond the arc and will once again take his talents to the CEBL.
Kicking off the second round of the draft, Mikyle Malabuyoc from the Western Mustangs was selected 11th overall by his hometown Vancouver Bandits.
Joining his TMU teammates in the league, meanwhile, is Javier Gilgeous-Glasgow, who is heading to the Calgary Surge with the 15th overall pick.
Alvin Icyogere, who was taken by the BlackJacks 17th overall, made history for the Nipissing Lakers, becoming the first player from the program to get drafted to the CEBL after racking up averages of 15.4 PPG, 5.4 RPG, and 1.6 APG.
The Montreal Alliance then closed out the second round by selecting York Lions centre Liam Rietschin.
Three more OUA student-athletes rounded out a stellar 2025 draft class in the third and final round, with McMaster’s Mike Demagus going to the Honey Badgers (22nd overall), his teammate Brendan Amoyaw heading to the Winnipeg Sea Bears (25th overall), and Thierry Tshibola of the Brock Badgers keeping things close with the Niagara River Lions (29th overall).
This latest crop of draftees will join an already impressive list of talented players that have made their mark in Canada’s largest professional sports league since its inaugural season in 2019.
