Sea Bears Announce 2024 Training Camp Roster
WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Sea Bears of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) begins their pre-season training camp Monday morning at the Sport Manitoba complex in downtown Winnipeg, Man. The team also announced their training camp roster, which brings a combined 55 years of professional experience in the NBA, CEBL, NBA G League and overseas professional leagues.
The team will welcome back CEBL MVP Teddy Allen for season two. Allen averaged 27.2 points last season en route to the league's top honour. The Phoenix, Ariz. product saw similar scoring success overseas in the British Basketball League (BBL) this winter, pouring in over 22 points per game with the Leicester Riders in an effort that earned him a place on the league’s Team of the Year. Allen returns to the Sea Bears looking to build on a season in which he tied the CEBL single-game records in scoring (42 points June 2 at Scarborough) and three-pointers (nine June 15 vs. Brampton).
Byron Mullens and Darius Days are two additions to watch, both bringing NBA experience with them to Winnipeg. It marks the first time the Sea Bears have rostered players from the NBA.
Days, a Florida local, has played nearly 100 games in the NBA G League with the Houston Rockets affiliate Rio Grande Valley Vipers. He was named to the G League’s second team and all-rookie team in 2022-23, earning him a call-up to the Rockets that lasted four games.
Mullens was selected 24th overall in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Dallas Mavericks, who traded his draft rights to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Boasting nearly 200 career NBA games, his most productive years came with the then-Charlotte Bobcats, where he averaged double-figure scoring in 2012. Mullens most recently played with the New Tapei Kings of Taiwan’s P.League+, where he averaged 19.9 points and 13.7 rebounds over three seasons.
A strong contingent of Winnipeg pros join these three. Headlining the local talent are professional veterans Jarred Ogungbemi-Jackson, Chad Posthumus and draft picks Simon Hildebrandt and Shawn Maranan.
Ogungbemi-Jackson is returning to Winnipeg from one of the top overseas leagues, VTB United, where he ranked second in points per game with 18.9. Posthumus, the 2023 CEBL's top offensive rebounder, returns after representing Canada in FIBA 3x3 tournaments this offseason.
Hildebrandt, the reigning CEBL U SPORTS Player of the Year, comes off a strong sophomore collegiate campaign that made him the first player in Manitoba Bisons program history to earn back-to-back Canada West First Team All-Star honours.
Maranan joins the team through the draft this year after spending time on the Sea Bears practice squad last season. The University of Winnipeg Wesmen star led his squad to a nationals Final 8 appearance and was named the Wesmen Male Athlete of the Year.
Winnipeg's training camp roster features eight local products in total. Lamar Everd, Noah Simpson, Donald Stewart and Daren Watts have all made marks on their respective U SPORTS teams, with the latter two featuring prominently in the Manitoba Bisons (Watts) and Winnipeg Wesmen (Stewart) rivalry.
Elisha Ampofo suited up for Manitoba's third U SPORTS school, the Brandon Bobcats. The guard from Milton, ON averaged 13.4 points per game this past season.
Shane Osayande, Alex Campbell, Mason Bourcier and Tyler Sagl round out the team's Canadian talent. Returning Sea Bear Osayande averaged 12.2 points and 8.4 rebounds for Al Shamal of the QBL this past winter. Campbell will look to put a firm stamp on his CEBL legacy as the all-time Canadian scorer. Bourcier joins the team from his first overseas stint in the BBL and bring elite playmaking skills to the team. Sagl, who was drafted in the second round by the Sea Bears for the second straight season, showed strong contributions from three in limited minutes last year.
David Muenkat is not
on the training camp roster and will join the team once his season with the Fraport Skyliners of the German Pro A league is complete.
As per CEBL guidelines, the team will select its 10 active roster players and two to four non-active players upon the completion of training camp.
After Sea Bears training camp, the team will head to Saskatchewan to take on the Rattlers on May 22. The team’s home opener is slated for May 24 at Canada Life Centre against the defending CEBL champions, the Scarborough Shooting Stars, a match which has sold out. Tickets for the team's nine remaining home games can be found here.
About the Winnipeg Sea Bears
The Winnipeg Sea Bears joined the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) as an expansion franchise in 2023. The city's only professional basketball team plays out of Canada Life Centre from May to August in a 20-game regular season schedule. Winnipeg businessman and lawyer, David Asper, is the organization's owner and chairman. More information on the Sea Bears can be found at seabears.ca and @wpgseabears on Instagram, X, TikTok, LinkedIn & Facebook.
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 73% of its 2023 rosters being Canadian. 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. Fourteen 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. More information about the CEBL is available at CEBL.ca and @cebleague on Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook & YouTube.
