EDMONTON, AB – The Edmonton Stingers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Thursday that Jermaine Small has been re-signed as the head coach and gneral manager of the team for the next two years. Small will lead the team in the 2022 and 2023 CEBL seasons.
Jermaine Small became head coach and general manager of Edmonton in 2019 after taking over from Barnaby Craddock, just eight games into the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)’s inaugural season. Since then, Edmonton holds a league-best 32-4 record and became the first-ever CEBL franchise to become back-to-back champions, securing the title in 2020 and 2021. During this time Small also won the CEBL Coach of The Year honours twice in 2020 and 2021.
“As I reflect on the last three seasons there is no doubt Alberta is home now and I’m extremely proud to be a Stinger,” said Small. ‘I want to thank the Edmonton Community, the Stingers family, the University of Lethbridge family and the league (CEBL) for their commitment and for embracing me throughout this journey. Now with ten teams in the league and being the hunted ones, I look forward to the challenge of continuing our championship level of success for the next two seasons.”
Small has made a significant impact on basketball in Canada at several levels from grassroots to professional.
After finishing up his playing career at Houghton College, in upstate New York, the Toronto product returned to his roots at Eastern Commerce Institute and became a volunteer coach for two years under his high school coach, Roy Rana, who was recently named the head coach of the Egyptian Men’s National team after being Assistant Coach of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings.
Small, joined Rana’s coaching staff at Ryerson University in 2012, and spent three seasons with the Rams, coaching Stingers players, like, Adika Peter-McNeilly and Jahmal Jones.
He then became the lead assistant under Steph Barrie at Queens University in 2015, a position he held for four seasons. He also spent three summers as a head coach in the Crown League in Toronto prior to making the jump to the CEBL and Edmonton.
"The entire Stingers organization and I are extremely proud to officially announce the re-signing of the CEBL Coach of the year, Jermaine Small,” said Edmonton Stingers President Reed Clarke. “Jermaine is a proven leader on and off the court in the Alberta basketball community. His passion for the game is contagious and we are beyond excited to continue to have him as part of the Stingers family.”
Small is currently also the head coach of the Lethbridge Pronghorns Men’s Basketball program, his first head coaching stint in Canada West and U SPORTS competition.
About The Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL)
The CEBL begins its fourth season in May 2022. A league created by Canadians for Canadians, the CEBL has the highest percentage of Canadian players of any professional league in the country, with 75 percent of its current rosters being Canadians. Players bring experience from the NBA, NBA G League, top international leagues, the Canadian National team program, and top NCAA programs as well as U SPORTS. The only First Division Professional League Partner of Canada Basketball, the CEBL season runs from May through August.
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