THIS IS CEBL

Mike Morreale’s visionary leadership of the Canadian Elite Basketball League stems from his extensive experience as a professional athlete, head of a professional players union, broadcaster, community leader, and successful business executive. That breadth of experience, along with people-first core values, has enabled Morreale to form a strong foundation for Canada’s only global team sports brand in less than four years.  

Under Morreale’s leadership the CEBL has established itself as among the best of the 200 pro basketball leagues around the world. It is the top FIBA league in the world playing during the spring and summer months, drawing players with experience in the NBA, NBA G League, other top international pro leagues, and with leading NCAA and U Sports programs. The CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian athletes of any pro league in the country, with 75% of its players being Canadian.

Morreale’s vision has resulted in the CEBL being the most innovative pro sports league in the world as evidenced by having its own OTT platform, CEBL+, by being the only pro sports league in North America to offer its players the choice to be paid in cryptocurrency, by being the only FIBA league in the world to use Elam Ending rather than a game clock to end its games, by engaging a live DJ to perform courtside during game action, and by utilizing FIBA rules for a faster paced and shorter game than the NBA or NBA G League games.

Morreale was a standout receiver for 12 seasons in the Canadian Football League, eight with his hometown Hamilton Tiger-Cats and four with Toronto. He was a member of Grey Cup champion teams in 1996 and 1999, earning Grey Cup Canadian MVP honours in 1999. The McMaster University graduate also earned the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian award in 1998, and the Tom Pate Award for outstanding sportsmanship and contributions to his team and community in 2000. He served as player representative with the CFL Players’ Association, as vice president of sales and marketing for the players association, and in 2012 he was elected as the ninth president in the history of the CFLPA.

A popular public speaker, Morreale has worked as a broadcaster with TSN, Sportsnet, and with the Tiger-Cats. He launched his business career while still playing in the CFL as an owner with the Philthy McNasty’s Restaurant Group. He later served as director of business development with the FCT group of companies, a leading provider of real estate technology in Canada. It was while Morreale was director of business development with AirSprint, an aviation company delivering private jet ownership options, that he met CEBL founder Richard Petko.

Petko and Morreale began discussions that led to the concept of the CEBL, which launched in May of 2018 and began play in May of 2019 with six original franchises. Under Morreale’s leadership the CEBL was the only pro sports league in Canada to grow during the two years that Covid-19 severely impacted sports in Canada, and it was the first pro sports league to return to play in Canada after the pandemic shut down sports in March of 2020. He forged a multi-year partnership with CBC that put the game in front of viewers across Canada starting with the 2020 season, and with carriers that have streamed the games to basketball viewers around the world. Despite the impact of Covid-19, the CEBL has expanded to nine franchises in five provinces for the 2022 season. 

Morreale’s long-term vision for the CEBL includes at least 16 franchises across Canada. The league will represent Canada in global basketball competitions while serving at the forefront of developing all aspects of the fastest-growing sport in Canada from grassroots basketball to the professional ranks.

A veteran sports management executive, John Lashway is the President of the Hamilton team and EVP, Strategy and Communications for the CEBL. With 22 years of senior management experience in the National Basketball Association and 10 in the National Hockey League, John helped launch the Toronto Raptors in 1995 following nine years with the Portland Trail Blazers. John played a key role in the merger of the Raptors and Toronto Maple Leafs that formed Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., which he served as a senior vice president until leaving to start Lashway Consulting Group in 2008. For the past 10 years he has delivered business, communications, brand development, and community engagement strategies to organizations in numerous industries across the United States and Canada. The CEBL has named Lashway as President of the Hamilton Professional Basketball Club. 

As Chief operating Officer, Josh plays a vital role in overseeing the day-to-day  operations of the CEBL. A graduate of Brock University's top-rated Sport Management Program, Josh looks forward to contributing to the start-up of Canada's newest professional sports entity. Before his time with the CEBL, Josh was a major part of the Leadership Team that founded the Niagara River Lions Professional Basketball Club. After the organization's inception, Josh served in a number of Director level roles within the River Lions' organization, including time spent as the franchise's Director of Corporate Partnerships & Sales. His passion for sport and community will be a key asset in delivering the unique offering that the CEBL has for Canadian sport and entertainment fans.

Joe Raso brings more than 35 years of experience at every level of basketball around the world to his role as Director, Basketball Operations with the Canadian Elite Basketball League. Currently Head Scout for the Canadian Men’s National team and an advance scout with the Atlanta Hawks, Brooklyn Nets, and Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association, Raso served as head coach and general manager of the Niagara River Lions of the NBL during the 2017-18 season, guiding the team to its first-ever playoff victory. He has been a national and international consultant, clinician, committee member, speaker, and basketball analyst during the past 25 years.

The all-time winningest coach in McMaster University history, Raso is one of the most successful coaches in CIS/U Sports history, compiling 389 wins against only 155 loses (a .715 winning percentage) in 18 seasons. His McMaster teams won 20 or more games 17 times, won four OUA championships, and competed in 12 CIS national championships, winning four Silver medals. He was named OUA Coach of the Year six times. At the international level, Raso was an assistant coach with the Canadian Men’s National team from 1994-98, coaching in World Championships and Olympic qualifiers. 

Raso is a former Technical Directory with the World International Children’s Games, and his Hamilton, Ontario teams won international Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals at those Games. As a high school teacher for 32 years, he represented Canada at the Albert Schweitzer Tournament in Germany, the top international junior tournament in the world.

Raso developed “Basketball vs. Bullying”, which became the largest anti-bullying seminar in the world and holds the Canadian record for the most attended university basketball game in the nation’s history. He was awarded the YMCA National Peace Award in 2006 for that initiative. In 2008 he developed and co-directed “Hoops Against Hate ‘Faces of Racism’”, an interactive experience for high school students using basketball to deliver a message of anti-racism.