The Ottawa BlackJacks of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), Canada’s largest professional sports league, announced today that the team has signed forward Zane Waterman for the 2025 season.
Waterman will be entering his fourth season of CEBL play and joins the BlackJacks having established the Hamilton/Brampton franchise records for career points (653), rebounds (310) and games played (55) across both the regular season and playoffs.
“Throughout the course of his CEBL career, Zane has consistently shown himself to be an impact player on winning teams,” said BlackJacks general manager James Derouin. “His game impressed our front office and coaching staff and we are keen to add a player of his calibre to our roster this summer. The versatility, toughness, and championship pedigree that he brings to our club will be a major boost in our pursuit of a title this season. We are very excited to welcome Zane and his family to the Nation’s Capital.”
The 24th highest ranked regular season scorer in CEBL history (641) is coming off a 2024 season which saw him lead the Honey Badgers in points per-game (15.9) while recording 20-plus points in eight of his 19 games highlighted by a personal CEBL single game high of 30 on July 7 at Edmonton.
A native of Winston-Salem, N.C., Waterman is currently participating in his second consecutive season of play in the Lithuanian LKL for Neptunas after a 2023-24 campaign with Kedainiai Nevezis which saw him lead the team in points per-game (16.8) while ranking fifth in the league in minutes per-game (30.5). The season saw him earn LKL MVP honours for the months of December and March as he led his team in scoring during seven of the nine contests across those games.
Playing professionally since 2018, the 6’9” American has appeared for teams in Argentina, Cypriot, Czechia, Finland, Germany, Poland, Portugal and New Zealand following a successful NCAA career at Manhattan (MAAC) where he was named Third Team All-Conference during his junior and senior seasons. He concluded his collegiate career as the 18th highest scorer in program history registering 1,275 points and third in total defensive rebounds with 451.
Flexible ticket packages are currently available to purchase by visiting
theblackjacks.ca/tickets.
BlackJacks 2025 season-seat memberships are available now. For additional details, fans are encouraged to email
[email protected] or call 613-690-0519.
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About the 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 75% of its rosters being Canadian and a record 12 players with NBA experience in 2024. 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+, 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.