A record number of GTA athletes will be competing in March Madness this year

by Marcus Mitropoulos for Streets Of Toronto Posted: March 16, 2023 Photo: Toronto's Shayeann Day-Wilson. Courtesy @shy.dw23/Instagram

If you thought last year’s March Madness featured a ton of Canadians, feast your eyes on this.

The NCAA is hosting its biggest basketball tournament, March Madness, beginning Thursday. 64 collegiate basketball programs play in a single-elimination tournament, pitting some of basketball’s brightest talents against each other. This year, a record-breaking 53 athletes are from Canada, with 12 men and 13 women competing out of the GTA. 

Zach Edey is a 7’4, 305-pound centre from Toronto who is highly touted by NBA scouts. Playing out of Purdue, Edey has demonstrated a keen low-post scoring ability, averaging 22.3 points per game, a figure rivaled by five other athletes. His 12.8 rebounds per game make him the third-highest-ranked rebounder in all of Division I basketball. Watch Zach suit up for the number one ranked Purdue Boilermakers on March 17. 

He might be smaller than Edey in stature, but Marcus Carr is set to cause havoc at March Madness, all while repping the 6. Boosted by an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic, Carr is currently Canada’s all-time leader in points and assists after surpassing the previous record this week. His 15.9 points and 4.1 assists make him a handful for any backcourt in the tournament. Carr and the Texas Longhorns will kick off their tournament against two other Canadians, Malcolm Bailey and Sam Thomson when they play Colgate at 7:15 p.m. on March 17. 

The women’s tournament kicks off on the same day, boasting prospects across multiple teams ranked in the top four of their respective conferences. Shayeann Day-Wilson and Emma Koabel are trading their Team Canada red for Duke Blue Devils blue on March 17, where they kick off the tournament as a number three seed. Day-Wilson is on pace to meet former Crestwood Preparatory College teammate Aaliyah Edwards in the final four. Edwards is hooping for a number two-ranked UConn team. 

Here’s the full list of Canadian athletes at this year’s March Madness. 

  • Charles Bediako, Saint Catherines, ON, Alabama
  • Enoch Boakye, Mississauga, ON, Arizona State
  • Malcolm Bailey, Stratford, ON, Colgate
  • Sam Thomson, Kitchener, ON, Colgate
  • Ryan Nembhard, Aurora, ON, Creighton
  • Okay Djamgouz, London, ON, Drake
  • Ryan Young, Montreal, QC, Duke
  • Sebastien Lamaute, Saint-Bruno, QC, Farleigh-Dickinson
  • Pier-Olivier Racine, Gatineau, QC, Farleigh-Dickinson
  • Ose Okojie, Brampton, ON, Howard
  • Patrick Emilien, Etobicoke, ON, Maryland
  • Caelum Swanton-Rodger, Calgary, AB, Maryland
  • Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Montreal, QC, Marquette
  • Luke Hunger, Montreal, QC, Northwestern
  • Xaivian Lee, Toronto, ON, Princeton
  • Scott Morozov, Toronto, ON, Providence
  • Zach Edey, Toronto, ON, Purdue
  • Marcus Carr, Toronto, ON, Texas
  • Javonte Brown, Pickering, ON, Texas A&M
  • Jasman Sangha, Brampton, ON, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
  • Emanuel Miller, Scarborough, ON, Texas Christian
  • Sam Alamatu, Ajax, ON, Vermont
  • TJ Hurley, Pelham, ON, Vermont
  • Josiah Davis, Kitchener, ON, West Virginia
  • Lemyah Halton, Mississauga, ON, Arizona
  • Shaina, Pellington, Toronto, ON, Arizona
  • Brianna McLeod, Brampton, ON, Colorado, 
  • Shayeann Day-Wilson, Toronto, ON, Duke
  • Emma Koabel, Port Colborne, ON, Duke
  • Micah Dennis, Toronto, ON, East Carolina
  • Xianna Josephs, Brampton, ON, East Carolina
  • Fatima Diakhate, Gatineau, QC, Georgia
  • Yvonne Ejim, Calgary, AB, Gonzaga
  • Callie Wright, Markham, ON, Holy Cross
  • Kiandra Browne, Montreal, QC, Indiana
  • Shantavia Dawkins, Brampton, ON, Iowa State
  • Izzi Zingaro, Bolton, ON, Iowa State
  • Cheyenne Rowe, Ajax, ON, James Madison
  • Merissah Russell, Ottawa, ON, Louisville
  • Summer Bostock, Carlisle, ON, Maryland
  • LaShae Dwyer, Toronto, ON, Miami
  • Latasha Lattimore, Toronto, ON, Miami
  • Jada Grannum, Mississauga, ON, Middle Tennessee
  • Ella Farrelly, Guelph, ON, Monmouth
  • Cassandre Prosper, Montreal, QC, Notre Dame
  • Laeticia Amihere, Mississauga, ON, South Carolina
  • Aerial Wilson, Dundas, ON, South Florida
  • Justina King, Scarborough, ON, Toledo
  • Brynn Masikewich, Calgary, AB, UCLA
  • Aaliyah Edwards, Kingston, ON, UConn
  • Abigail Jegede, Toronto, ON, Villanova
  • Jessica Clarke, North Vancouver, BC, Washington State
  • Tara Wallack, South Surrey, BC, Washington State
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