If you’re a fan of college basketball, it’s probably your favourite time of year.
March Madness is the NCAA’s biggest tournament, essentially the playoffs of college basketball. And, this year, a record-breaking 30 Canadians, 20 of whom are from the GTA, will participate in the prestigious event, where some of the best American schools in the league face off to find the ultimate champion.
Toronto-born sophomore center Zach Edey, who stands at an impressive 7’4″, will represent the Purdue Boilermakers, and is deemed one of the most electric, tough-to-guard players in the league. His play is a major reason that the Boilermakers achieved the top spot in the United States for the first time in the history of the school’s basketball program.
Toronto is also well-represented in Texas, with city boy Marcus Carr playing for Texas University, Brampton’s Jasman Sangha suiting up for Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Scarborough’s Emanuel Miller on Texas Christian’s roster.
A pair of locals are teammates in Alabama, as Brampton’s Charles Bediako and Toronto’s Keon Ambrose-Hylton will take the court together to compete. March Madness will even seen Aurora-born brothers compete against each other, with Ryan Nembhard representing Creighton and Andrew Nembhard playing for Gonzaga.
A full list of Canadians participating in NCAA’s March Madness Tournament (with their name, hometown and school) is below.
- Charles Bediako, Brampton, ON, Alabama
- Keon Ambrose-Hylton, Toronto, ON, Alabama
- Bennedict Mathurin, Montreal, QC, Arizona
- Abu Kigab, St. Catharines, ON, Boise State
- Emmanuel Akot, Winnipeg, MB, Boise State
- Adham Eleeda, Kitchener, ON, Bryant
- Malcolm Bailey, Stratford, ON, Colgate
- Sam Thomson, Kitchener, ON, Colgate
- Ryan Nembhard, Aurora, ON, Creighton
- Andrew Nembhard, Aurora, ON, Gonzaga
- Shaedon Sharpe, London, ON, Kentucky
- Aher Uguak, Edmonton, AB, Loyola (IB)
- Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Montreal, QC, Marquette
- Caleb Houstan, Mississauga, ON, Michigan
- Abdul Mohamed, Ottawa, Montana State
- Kellen Tynes, Dartmouth, NS, Montana State
- Clayton Henry, Calgary, AB, New Mexico State
- Matteus Case, Toronto, ON, Providence
- Zach Edey, Toronto, ON, Purdue
- Matt Grace, Hamilton, ON, Richmond
- Nathan Cayo, Montreal, QC, Richmond
- Tyrese Samuel, Montreal, QC, Seton Hall
- Marcus Carr, Toronto, ON, Texas
- Jasman Sangha, Brampton, ON, Texas A&M Corpus Christi
- Emanuel Miller, Scarborough, ON, Texas Christian
- Link Alamutu, Ajax, ON, Vermont
- Eric Beckett, Ajax, ON, Vermont
- Georges Lefebvre, Ajax, ON, Vermont
- Jahcobi Neath, Toronto, ON, Wisconsin
- Eze Dike, Montreal, QC, Yale
