Vancouver Bandits Sign Former CEBL Champion and Sixth Man of the Year Koby McEwen for the 2024 Season
Decorated champion and NCAA all-star brings international and NBA G League experience to BC’s professional basketball team
LANGLEY, B.C., February 20, 2024 – The Vancouver Bandits announced Tuesday that the club has signed 2022 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) champion Koby McEwen for the club’s upcoming season of professional basketball at Langley Events Centre (LEC).
The 2024 campaign will be McEwen’s third year in the CEBL after spending his previous two seasons with the Brampton Honey Badgers.
The 26-year-old native from Toronto, Ont. departs Brampton as the franchise’s all-time leader in minutes played (1123) and assists (155). McEwen ranked first on the Honey Badgers in minutes played (31.9 per game) as well as assists per game (5.4) last season. His 13.7 points per game placed him second in scoring behind only Christian Vital, whom McEwen won a CEBL championship alongside in 2022. To cap off a strong 2022 season, McEwen also took home CEBL Sixth Man of the Year honours.
"I am excited to be joining an organization with the potential to do so many great things in this league. We have an opportunity to bring a championship to this city and to the fans who support us throughout the season. I am excited to embark on this new journey with the Bandits and work tirelessly to contribute to winning. I’m all in!" McEwen said.
Although just two years into his young professional career, McEwen has developed a reputation as a reliable scorer and clutch performer who is capable of making his teammates better. In the 2022 CEBL championship game he scored 16 points in just 24 minutes played; including three three-pointers.
Fast forward to 2023 and McEwen continued to establish himself as one of the CEBL’s premier guards, nailing 82 per cent of his attempts from the free throw line, which placed him first in the CEBL among eligible players.
A 6-foot-4 combo guard, his strong play in the CEBL has set the stage for an impressive international career; including stints with Norrköping (Sweden) in the prestigious FIBA Europe Cup and his current club GTK Gliwice in Poland.
McEwen has also represented Canada on the international stage, suiting up for the red and white at both the FIBA U16 Americas Championship in 2013 and FIBA U17 World Cup in 2014.
Further enhancing McEwen’s solid resumé is his tenure of success in North America. McEwen starred at Utah State University for two seasons before transferring to Marquette University. McEwen wrapped up five years of NCAA Division I basketball at Weber State in 2021-22 where he was named 2022 Big Sky Newcomer of the Year and earned first-team All-Big Sky honours after finishing fourth in the conference in scoring with 18.2 points per game.
After graduating from Weber State in 2022 and beginning his professional career in 2022-23, McEwen culminated a strong pro rookie season by playing for his hometown Raptors 905, the NBA G League affiliate of the Toronto Raptors. He played in seven games and scored a season-high 13 points on 4-for-6 shooting on March 25, 2023, versus the Greensboro Swarm.
“Koby was one of the top Canadian free agents in our league. Koby embodies our culture and the way we want to play. He is a two-way threat and someone we have targeted the past three years. I can't wait to have him join our family and enhance our culture,” said Bandits head coach and general manager Kyle Julius.
Season tickets as well as flex packs are currently on sale for the Bandits’ sixth CEBL campaign and are available for purchase at this link. Single game tickets are expected to go on sale later this spring.
Fans will get their first opportunity to watch the Bandits on Thursday, May 23 at 7 p.m. PT when Vancouver opens its season at home when the Montréal Alliance visit Langley Events Centre.
Vancouver will play a total of 10 regular season home games in 2024 between Thursday, May 23 and Thursday, July 18. The Bandits wrap up regular season action on the road against Montréal on Sunday, July 28 at 1 p.m. PT.
All CEBL regular season games including playoffs will be live-streamed on TSN+, as well as the CEBL’s OTT platform,
CEBL+, and on CEBL Mobile, the official app of the CEBL (available on Android and iOS devices).
Individuals interested in learning more about tickets for the Vancouver Bandits’ upcoming 2024 season are kindly asked to call (604) 455-8881 or email
[email protected]. A complete regular season schedule can be found by
clicking here.
More information is available at
thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on
Instagram and
TikTok, as well as @vancitybandits on
Facebook and
Twitter.
About the Vancouver Bandits:
The Vancouver Bandits are British Columbia’s professional basketball team. As the westernmost club
in the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL), the Bandits offer an entertainment experience that
combines a fast-paced game day atmosphere with a presentation of some of Canada’s top
professional athletes within a world-class venue at Langley Events Centre (LEC).
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.
