YAW OBENG-MENSAH

POSITION: Forward

HEIGHT: 6-7 (200 cm)

WEIGHT: 215 (97.5 kg)

BIRTHDATE: June 15, 2000 (Toronto, ON)

HIGH SCHOOL: Emery Collegiate Institute (North York, ON)

UNIVERSITY / COLLEGE: Niagara University (2024)

HOW ACQUIRED: Signed April 25, 2024

YEARS PRO: R

BIO

UNIVERSITY / COLLEGE CAREER 


Averaged 9.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 21.7 minutes in 143 games in a five-year collegiate career at Santa Fe Community College, University of Maryland Baltimore County, and Niagara University.


2024 CEBL Season (As of July 30): Averaging 5.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 15.9 minutes in 19 games with the Brampton Honey Badgers … Had his first career double-double with career high’s of 25 points and 13 rebounds vs. Ottawa on July 29 … Scored 12 points while recording five assists off the bench vs. Scarborough on July 20 … Snatched a career-best six steals, tying the single-game franchise record vs. Scarborough on June 30 … Scored 15 points while adding four rebounds in a victory over Montreal on June 28 … Grabbed seven rebounds in six minutes off the bench vs. Montreal on June 19 … Secured five rebounds to go along with four points June 7 vs. Saskatchewan … Grabbed a career-best six rebounds vs. Montreal on June 2 … Recorded seven points including the target score winner while adding four rebounds vs. Ottawa on May 26 … Scored six points while recording three blocks and a pair of steals in his professional debut May 24 vs. Niagara.


2022-23: Averaged 8.5 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 22.9 minutes in 32 games during second season with the University of Maryland Baltimore County … Started in 31 games … Led the Retrievers with 17 blocks and 204 total boards … Recorded four double-doubles, including an 18-point and 16-rebound effort against Vermont on January 28 … Had a season-best 20 points on nine-for-13 (.692) shooting against Maine on January 14 … Produced 19 points to go along with 10 rebounds and two blocks November 10 vs. Penn State York.


2021-22: Transferred to the University of Maryland Baltimore County … Averaged 6.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 17.3 minutes in 32 games as a junior… Started in 23 games as a junior, including the final 20 games … Reached double-figures in scoring in six appearances … Recorded a 12-point and nine-rebound performance February 9 against Hartford … Had a season-best 13 points in 20 minutes of action against Western Carolina on November 19.


2020-21: Averaged 12.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 20.0 minutes in 20 games with Santa Fe Community College … Earned FCSA First-Team All-Conference and Mid-Florida Conference All-Academic honors… Team leader in points scored (252) and rebounding (194) … Recorded a career-best 30 points February 13 against Daytona State.


2019-20: Averaged 11.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and 23.1 minutes as a freshman with Santa Fe Community College … Set a career-high 28 points on 13-for-19 shooting from the field against Polk State on December 4 .


PERSONAL


Son of Josephine and Kwadwo … Has four siblings; Kwame, Yaw Amoako, Bra Tew, and Kwasi … Majored in Liberal Arts at Niagara University … Favourite musical artist is Future.


By Myles Dichter June 15, 2025
In the final minute of the first half, the Brampton Honey Badgers were inbounding the ball with three seconds remaining on the shot clock. Quinndary Weatherspoon fed Koby McEwen as he rounded the corner above the three-point arc. McEwen rose up, fading toward the sideline, and drilled a three-pointer to put his team up 46-45. It was Brampton’s first lead since the early stages of the game — and, after plenty of back and forth, it held up as the Honey Badgers beat the Edmonton Stingers 95-91 on Saturday at the CAA Centre. Brampton improved to 2-7 with the win, while Edmonton fell to 4-6. “We played well together. First five minutes we didn’t really lock in on the game plan, but we were able to regroup and turn things around and play through the runs, so good team win,” Honey Badgers head coach Sheldon Cassimy said. The Honey Badgers took an 85-83 lead into Target Score Time. Edmonton tied things on its second possession with a Keon Ambrose-Hylton floater, but Omari Kelly nailed a three to give Brampton back the lead on the following play. Scottie Lindsey then cut the Stingers’ deficit to one, but David Muenkat responded with a triple. After Muenkat knocked down a pair of free throws, Brampton was one point away from victory. But Edmonton wasn’t done yet. A Lindsey free throw and an and-one from Sean East II cut the Honey Badgers’ lead to 93-91 — and put both teams a bucket away from victory. Brampton got the first shot at victory and Quinndary Weatherspoon missed a layup, but the rebound went out of bounds off of Edmonton — and the Honey Badgers didn’t miss their second chance. Muenkat received a pass under the basket and turned around for a layup off the glass for his second game-winner of the season. “I had a little guy on me so kind of wanted to use that size advantage. It was just recognizing and try to attack the mismatch,” Muenkat, who was named player of the game, told sideline reporter Dhanung Bulsara after the contest. McEwen wound up as the team’s leading scorer with 23 points to go with six assists and three rebounds. Muenkat, the hometown kid, finished with a massive 15-point, 14-rebound double-double, while Kelly also had 15 points. Weatherspoon contributed 16 points and seven assists to the winning cause as well. McEwen, another GTA local who chose to play with the Honey Badgers so he could be closer to home, said the win felt good for the team. “I think for the most part we played well. We rebounded, we shot the ball and we defended when we needed to. A lot of things to clean up, but it’s always good to win,” McEwen said. Cassimy said McEwen’s strong performance started on the defensive end. “I have all the trust and faith in Koby. He’s a great player and he just focused on defence first and the offence came,” Cassimy said. The Stingers were coming off a win over the defending champion Niagara River Lions one night earlier, and the strong play continued in the first quarter with a seven-for-seven mark from deep. But, perhaps with tired legs on the second half of the back-to-back, the Stingers offence sagged from there, finishing with a 40 per cent mark from deep and 44 per cent overall. “(The Honey Badgers) punished us inside, they got shots that they wanted and we were OK with trading baskets and not really giving a full effort defensively but that’s a challenge of a back-to-back is trying to stay engaged and dialed in,” Stingers head coach Jordan Baker said. Sean East II once again led all Stingers scorers with 22 points, while Scottie Lindsey added 20 points, four rebounds and four assists. Do-it-all forward Nick Hornsby stuffed the stat sheet with 13 points, seven assists and four rebounds. But Lindsey said his squad may just not have had enough left in the tank coming off Friday’s hard-fought win. “Tough loss for the team when we were building momentum, but every loss is something you can learn from and there’s always room for improvement,” Lindsey said. Edmonton’s Mason Bourcier left the game in the second half with an upper-body injury. The Stingers beat the Honey Badgers 99-81 in their first meeting of the season in May, and it looked like things were headed in the same direction in the early going. Edmonton’s perfect three-point shooting propelled it to a 33-24 lead after the first quarter. But Brampton ramped up its defence in the second frame and took a 49-47 advantage into halftime after two late threes of their own. A tightly contested third quarter ended in a 73-71 lead for the Honey Badgers, and they were able to hang on from there. Now with wins in two of three following a slow start to the season, Brampton appears primed to go on a run. “Early on in the season, we were trying to build the chemistry,” Cassimy said. “But we had basically a whole week to practice, so we’re gelling, we’re working together better and I think it’ll continue to go in the right direction.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600610 Up Next Brampton’s home stand continues with a game against the Saskatchewan Rattlers on Friday, while Edmonton heads to Red Deer, Alta., for a showdown with the Calgary Surge. Next CEBL Action A three-game Sunday slate includes Ottawa hosting Niagara, Winnipeg welcoming Saskatchewan and Calgary awaiting Scarborough. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . ### 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 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 73% of its rosters being Canadian and more than 10 players with NBA game experience in 2025. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. More than 20 players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by Tonybet, TSN, TSN+, RDS , Game+ and Next Level Sports & Entertainment . More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , LinkedIn , Facebook & YouTube . Media Contact: Elias Eldridge - Account Executive & Communications Specialist Brampton Honey Badgers eeldridge@honeybadgers.ca
By Christian Bastasin-Diodati June 13, 2025
The Honey Badgers look to quickly rebound from their loss as they face the Edmonton Stingers at home for their second matchup of the season. It has been a season to forget so far for the Brampton Honey Badgers, going 0-6 in their worst start in franchise history before getting a much needed win against the Winnipeg Sea Bears at home. They then lost to the Niagara River Lions after a scrum broke out between the two teams, leading to multiple ejections, and a now 1-7 record. The 3-5 Stingers have not had it easy either, losing two close games to the Calgary Surge and Winnipeg Sea Bears. After getting a win versus Brampton, they lost two straight to Vancouver and a red hot Montréal In total head-to-head matchups between the Honey Badgers and Stingers, Edmonton has five wins at home to one loss and four wins away to two losses. This includes this season’s match in Edmonton which the Stingers won 99-81. It was mostly the Sean East II show as he torched the Honey Badgers for 27 points, six rebounds, seven assists and two steals. U Sports’ Aaron Rhooms also had a spectacular showing, scoring 19 points (7-for-11), and Taye Donald was a terror on defense all game, logging a game-high four steals and chipping in with 12 points. The Honey Badgers top scorer was Quinndary Weatherspoon, who finished with 21 points (7-for-14), five assists and three steals. Amari Kelly and Prince Oduro both finished with 17 points with Kelly leading the team in rebounds with six. Despite strong play from both bigs offensively, the Honey Badgers gave up 44 points in the paint, the most they have given up all season. The Honey Badgers bench was also outmatched, giving up a whopping 48 points. Stingers head Coach Jordan Baker praised his players' effort after rebounding from their prior loss to Vancouver. “It was great to be able to bounce back after our subpar performance against Vancouver. I thought guys put in a good solid effort on the defensive side of things and shared a little bit more on offense,” Baker said. The Honey Badgers are looking to recover quickly as they return home from a tough loss to the Niagara River Lions. The team struggled out the gate finishing the first quarter down 16-31 to the defending champs. They started to rally early in the third quarter, cutting the lead down to 13, only for a massive scrum which saw both benches emptied, leading to Koby McEwen and Amari Kelly being ejected. This left Quinndary Weatherspoon the task to keep the rally going, hitting a layup in the dying minutes of the third quarter with Niagara responding with a three-pointer, finding themselves down 13 at the end of the third quarter. Unfortunately, Weatherspoon would foul out in target time with the Honey Badgers down 92-78, a hole which they could not recover from, losing with a final score of 80-94. Weatherspoon finished the game with 25 points, five assists and one steal. Prince Oduro had 15 points, eight rebounds and led the team in steals and blocks with two each. The River Lions were powered mainly by 22 points from Khalil Ahmad and 14 points from Connor Vreeken off the bench. The defending champions bombarded the Honey Badgers with threes, shooting 40 in the game and knocking down 12 of them. They also crashed the boards, recording 52 rebounds, 17 of which were offensive. This allowed for the River Lions to get 10 second chance points and 30 points in the paint. The Edmonton Stingers recently won against the Ottawa BlackJacks, 93-74. Scottie Lindsey led the way with 23 points, nine rebounds and five steals. Sean East II was right behind him with 20 points, four rebounds and six assists. The Stingers shot lights out from beyond the arc, hitting 50% of their three point attempts. They also looked to get to the paint often, scoring 38 points inside and 14 second chance points. Despite the commanding win, Edmonton’s bench could not keep up with Ottawa’s bench production, being outscored 23-31. They also struggled to defend the paint, giving up 38 points in the paint and 12 second chance points. Therefore, it will be key for the Honey Badgers to take advantage of this weakness, especially considering both Oduro and Kelly scored their season high in points against Edmonton. Prior to these team’s previous meetings, the Honey Badgers needed a win to get traction going on the season. Once again, they find themselves in the same situation while the Stingers are looking to keep up the momentum after a win against Ottawa. Both teams are in the woods record wise which will make this an interesting match. Will Brampton come out with a win to keep their season alive, or will Edmonton continue to climb the standings, while putting another dent in the Honey Badger’s playoff hopes ? You can watch the game on Game +, TSN+ and CEBL+. ### 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 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 73% of its rosters being Canadian and more than 10 players with NBA game experience in 2025. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. More than 20 players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by Tonybet, TSN, TSN+, RDS , Game+ and Next Level Sports & Entertainment . More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , LinkedIn , Facebook & YouTube . Media Contact: Elias Eldridge - Account Executive & Communications Specialist Brampton Honey Badgers eeldridge@honeybadgers.ca
By CEBL Staff June 9, 2025
Connor Vreeken came off the bench to score 14 points, and collect five rebounds and five assists as the Niagara River Lions defeated the Brampton Honey Badgers, 94-80, Sunday afternoon at Meridian Centre. Vreeken finished an efficient 5-for-11 from the field and added a couple steals in a career-high 14 minutes of action. The former Carleton Ravens star credits the River Lions (5-2) organization with preparing him for the moment. “We have a really good coaching staff here. They put me in good positions in order to make plays and then my teammates put me into good spots,” he said. “So, it makes it pretty easy to make reads and then it's just about executing at the end of the day.” Khalil Ahmad led all River Lions players with 22 points in 26 minutes, but was unable to finish the game as he was ejected, along with his Niagara teammate AJ Davis. Honey Badgers Koby McEwen and Amari Kelly were also ejected in the aftermath of a heated skirmish between both sides near the end of the third quarter. Quinndary Weatherspoon scored a game-high 25 points in the loss for the Honey Badgers (1–7), who looked out of the game early after a 14–3 Niagara run in the first quarter effectively put it out of reach for Brampton. The River Lions bombarded the Honey Badgers from three in the opening frame, going 6-of-13 from distance. “We always wanna play fast,” said River Lions assistant coach Troy Stevenson. “We thought we had an advantage in transition against them this time so we were really looking to go a little bit earlier, but that that being said, we’re always looking to hunt good shots. Talk to him first and then if it happens to unveil itself like it did today, we’ll take them. We’re not afraid to take shots.” Ahmad also become the first player in CEBL history to record 100 career steals with a couple in the first quarter. Niagara carried a 53-35 lead into halftime and an 85-66 lead into Target Score Time. The Honey Badgers made a spirited run in Target Score Time, scoring 14 points while the clock was turned off, but couldn’t overcome the hole they dug themselves into. The defending champion River Lions looked every part of it Sunday, but feel like there’s lots to work on moving ahead, so a Target Score Time like the one that occurred doesn’t happen again. “I think it’s just putting 40 minutes together,” Stevenson said. “We have we have veteran guys, we have guys who know how to win, guys that are proven winners. It’s just a matter of putting all the pieces together and getting comfortable with each other, communicating on the defensive side, not being stagnant on the offence, being aggressive. “So we’ve got the veterans, we’ve got the pieces and we’re gonna put it together. It’s just taking a little bit longer than we would like.” Box Score https://www.cebl.ca/game?id=2600587 Up next The River Lions will have a bit of a break and resume play Friday, June 13 at home against the Edmonton Stingers. The Honey Badgers also have a longer break before their next contest, also against Edmonton, at home on Saturday, June 14. For the full 2025 CEBL schedule and up-to-date results, please visit cebl.ca/games . ### 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 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 73% of its rosters being Canadian and more than 10 players with NBA game experience in 2025. Players also bring experience from the NBA G League, top international pro leagues, the Canadian National team program, NCAA programs, as well as U SPORTS and CCAA. More than 20 players have signed NBA contracts following a CEBL season, and numerous CEBL players attend NBA G League training camps every year. The CEBL season runs from May through August with games broadcast live on CEBL+ powered by Tonybet, TSN, TSN+, RDS , Game+ and Next Level Sports & Entertainment . More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram , Twitter , TikTok , LinkedIn , Facebook & YouTube . Media Contact: Elias Eldridge - Account Executive & Communications Specialist Brampton Honey Badgers eeldridge@honeybadgers.ca

COLLEGIATE STATISTICS

Totals

Year Team G MIN PTS 2FGP 3FGP FT RO RD RT AS PF BS ST TO
2023-24 Niagara University 28 698 285 99-191 4-10 75-104 49 90 139 48 49 10 21 35
2022-23 University of Maryland, Baltimore County 32 734 272 114-208 1-20 41-62 55 149 204 32 63 17 26 33
2021-22 University of Maryland, Baltimore County 32 552 221 84-148 1-11 50-73 52 118 170 17 61 14 15 28
2020-21 Santa Fe Community College 20 400 252 71-157 18-63 56-92 47 147 194 22 46 12 26 44
2019-20 Santa Fe Community College 31 715 345 108-196 23-87 60-101 58 150 208 50 59 16 33 61
Totals 143 3099 1375 476-900 47-191 282-432 261 654 915 169 278 69 121 201

Averages

Year Team G MIN PTS 2FGP 3FGP FT RO RD RT AS PF BS ST TO
2023-24 Niagara University 28 24.9 10.2 0.518 0.400 0.721 1.8 3.2 5.0 1.7 1.8 0.4 0.8 1.3
2022-23 University of Maryland, Baltimore County 32 22.9 8.5 0.548 0.050 0.661 1.7 4.7 6.4 1.0 2.0 0.5 0.8 1.0
2021-22 University of Maryland, Baltimore County 32 17.3 6.9 0.568 0.091 0.685 1.6 3.7 5.3 0.5 1.9 0.4 0.5 0.9
2020-21 Santa Fe Community College 20 20.0 12.6 0.452 0.286 0.609 2.4 7.4 9.7 1.1 2.3 0.6 1.3 2.2
2019-20 Santa Fe Community College 31 23.1 11.1 0.551 0.264 0.594 1.9 4.8 6.7 1.6 1.9 0.5 1.1 2.0
Totals 143 21.7 9.6 0.529 0.246 0.653 1.8 4.6 6.4 1.2 1.9 0.5 0.8 1.4