With the successful 2023 CEBL season in the rearview mirror, past and current Honey Badgers have signed their contracts overseas as they continue along their professional journey. A total of 59 of 80 Honey Badgers since 2019 have gone on to suit up internationally. Highlighted by eight in the NBA G League. Nine members of the inaugural Brampton Honey Badgers lineup have packed their bags en route to playing overseas this winter, in addition to one player returning to the classroom and U SPORTS competition. It’s a testament to the quality of the league and the emphasis placed on development throughout the Honey Badgers organization.

The Honey Badgers star-backcourt will go from teammates to opponents this winter in the Polish Basketball League. Christian Vital and Koby McEwen signed with Legia Warszawa and Tauron GTK Gilwice respectfully. Vital averaged a career-best 19.7 points in 18 games this summer in Brampton, while becoming the franchise’s all-time leading scorer. The University of Connecticut four-year scorer has played 129 games professionally in the NBA Summer League, NBA G League, and the CEBL as he prepares for his first season in Europe. A native of Toronto, McEwen returns to Europe after playing 10 games with Norrkoping in Sweden last winter. In a second season with the Honey Badgers, the guard averaged 13.7 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 5.4 assists. The pair will meet up head-to-head on December 1 at OSiR Bremowo in Warsaw, Poland. 

Prince Oduro, Jeremiah Tilmon Jr, and veteran Zane Waterman manned the paint this summer for the black and gold, leading the team to a league third-best 4.1 blocks per game. The trio returned to the Honey Badgers following their CEBL Championship reign in 2022. Oduro and Waterman closed out the 2023 campaign first and second in franchise history in rebounds with 227 and 196 respectively. Meanwhile, Tilmon Jr. led the Honey Badgers in field-goal percentage for the second consecutive season, shooting 66.1% in 2022 and 65.2% from the field this summer. All three forwards will take their talents overseas, individually signing in Germany, Japan, and Lithuania.

Full list of current Honey Badgers players to sign internationally:

Christian Vital - Legia Warszawa (Poland)

Jaden Edwards- BMS Herlev (Denmark)

Jeremiah Tilmon Jr. - Kagoshima Rebise (Japan)

Koby McEwen - Tauron GTK Gilwice (Poland)

Kyle Johnson - Caledonia (Scotland)

M.J. Walker - Saint-Quentin (France)

Patrick Emilien - OCS Swans Gmunden (Austria)

Prince Oduro - HAKRO Merlins Crailsheim (Germany)

Shamiel Stevenson- KK Split (Croatia)

Zane Waterman - BC Nevezis-Optibet (Lithuania)

Last April, the Honey Badgers selected guard Callum Baker with the 11th overall selection in the 2023 CEBL U SPORTS Draft. Months later, the Oakville, Ontario native concluded his first season as a professional playing in 13 games. A season that was highlighted by a career-high 16-point performance in the Eastern Conference quarter-finals against the Scarborough Shooting Stars,and  also included attending training camp for Canada Basketball Men’s National Team held in July at Humber College. Baker has returned for his final year with the Varsity Blues. The OUA season begins for U of T on November 3 at Brock University.

Former Honey Badgers and CEBL Canadian Player of the Year, Lindell Wigginton,will return for a third season with the Milwaukee Bucks after signing a one-year qualifying offer this offseason. The guard from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia averaged 21.5 points in 15 games with the Honey Badgers in his lone season in the CEBL before heading to the NBA, signing his first contract with the Bucks on January 13, 2022. 

Wigginton is joined by four former and current members of the Honey Badgers coaching staff who will be in the league come opening night this fall. CEBL Champion Brittni Donaldson and 2022 CEBL Coach of the Year Ryan Schmidt will both serve as assistant coaches for the Atlanta Hawks. Schmidt will also serve as the head coach for their G League affiliate, College Park Skyhawks. Current assistant coach Josh Estes and head coach Antoine Broxsie both have resumed their duties with the Cleveland Cavaliers following their first season in Brampton. The coaching duo missed four games this summer attending NBA Summer League with the Cavaliers, ultimately winning the championship.

About the Brampton Honey Badgers

One of the original franchises of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the 2022 CEBL Champion Brampton Honey Badgers proudly call the CAA Centre home. The Brampton front office and basketball operations department bring NBA, NBA G League, national team, NCAA and major international pro league experience to the franchise. With a vision of promoting Brampton grassroots basketball and local businesses through community and corporate engagement, the Honey Badgers will leverage the explosion of basketball as a vehicle for innovation and change. For more information visit www.honeybadgers.ca.

About the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) 

A league created by Canadians for Canadians with a mission to develop Canadian players, coaches, sports executives, and referees, the CEBL boasts the highest percentage of Canadian players of any pro league in the country with 71 percent of its 2023 rosters being Canadian. TSN, Canada's sports leader, is the official broadcast partner of the league. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. Nine players have moved from the CEBL into the NBA following a CEBL season, and 28 CEBL players attended NBA G League training camps during October. The CEBL season runs from May through August. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.

###

Media Contact:
Kyle Warrener

Brampton Honey Badgers

kwarrener@honeybadgers.ca

Social Media

Facebook: /honeybadgerscan

Twitter: @HoneyBadgersCAN

Instagram: honeybadgerscan