The Hamilton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League announced Thursday that they have re-signed head coach Ryan Schmidt for the 2022 season, his third with the club. He was originally signed by the Honey Badgers on May 12, 2020 and was extended for the 2021 season on August 1, 2020.

           An assistant coach with the Toronto Raptors NBA G League affiliate Raptors 905 the past four years, Schmidt is 13-10 in two years with the Honey Badgers, both abbreviated seasons due to Covid-19. He guided Hamilton to a 9-5 regular season mark this summer, which was third-best in the league, before the team was upset in the quarterfinals of the playoffs by Ottawa.

           “Ryan Schmidt has done an exceptional job of creating a team culture that makes the Honey Badgers the preferred destination among players who are in the CEBL and have expressed a desire to play in the league,” said team president John Lashway. “He is highly-regarded by NBA and NBA G League players and with our Canadian National team players because of his strength with player development. We’re excited to be able to sign Ryan for a third season.”

           “These past two seasons working alongside John Lashway and Jermaine Anderson have been truly remarkable,” said Schmidt. “We’ve laid the foundation and established a culture and identity to what this organization is about, and I’m excited to continue and carry that vision forward. Now it’s time to take the next step in that process, and we’re all looking forward to the work ahead.”

           Schmidt’s work with Raptors 905 the past four seasons has resulted in multiple players being promoted to the Raptors, two players named to the All-NBA G League Team (Chris Boucher and Jordan Lloyd), and a G League Most Valuable Player (Boucher) and Defensive Player of the Year (Boucher). He has been responsible for advance game scouting and planning, and throughout his time with the team he has been accountable for offense, defense, and special teams that has included leading practice, game planning, and strategic execution.

           Since May of 2017 Schmidt has worked with Canada Basketball to organize and lead workouts with members of the Junior and Senior Men’s National teams at the National Training Center. A native of Keizer, Oregon, Schmidt worked with high school and college athletes in a year-round player development program, coached the 17U team on the Nike EYBL circuit for Portland Basketball Club, assisted the World Team during the Nike Hoop Summit, and assisted with summer league practices with the Portland Trail Blazers. He was head coach with 22FT Academy in Greenville, South Carolina for four seasons, with his teams posting a 106-35 record and seeing 18 players receive NCAA Division 1 scholarships during that four-year period.

           Following a playing career at Hawaii and then with Western Oregon University where he served as team captain for two seasons and led the Wolves in scoring as a senior, Schmidt was a 2008 draft selection by Idaho of the NBA Developmental League. He played for Honolulu in the American Basketball Association during the 2009-10 season. Schmidt trained for three consecutive summers in Las Vegas with Joe Abunassar at Impact Basketball.

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Media Contact:

Maria Suriani

Director, Operations and Community Engagement

msuriani@honeybadgers.ca