Ottawa’s Carleton Ravens sweep 2023 U SPORTS Basketball Championships
The Ottawa-based Carleton University Ravens have swept the 2023 U SPORTS Basketball National Championships, supported by many former OBA players and coaches.
Women’s Championships
The Women’s National Championship game was an all-Ontario affair in Sydney, NS, with the no. 1 ranked Carleton Ravens (Ottawa, ON) facing the no. 3 ranked Queen’s University Gaels (Kingston, ON). The Ravens prevailed with a convincing 71-59 win. Kali Pocrnic (Lincoln Prep – OSBA & Team Ontario) led the Ravens with 20 points in the Final.
Many OBA-alum competed and coached on both Carleton & Queens:
Carleton Ravens
| Tatyanna Burke | Winona, ON | Scarborough Blues |
| Teresa Donato | Ottawa, ON | Ottawa Elite |
| Zerina Duvnjak | Kitchener, ON | Huron Heights SS / Tri-City Soldiers |
| Emma Kiesekamp | Merrickville, ON | Ottawa Elite |
| Tamia Laborde-Sutton | Vaughan, ON | Excel Hoops / Redmond Basketball Academy (OSBA) |
| Sierra Peck | Belleville, ON | Centennial Secondary |
| Kali Pocrnic* | Oakville, ON | Lincoln Prep (OSBA) |
| Kinly Rice | Douglas, ON | Opeongo High School |
| Jacqueline Urban* | Ancaster, ON | Lincoln Prep (OSBA) |
* indicates Team Ontario alumni
Coaching Staff: Michelle Abella, Assistant Coach (Team Ontario)
Queens Gaels
| Amy Hagman* | Orillia, ON | Southwest Academy (OSBA) |
| Haley Barbieri | Vaughan, ON | Bill Crothers (OSBA) |
| Isabella Gaudet* | Ottawa, ON | Capital Courts Academy (OSBA) |
| Ally Smith | Orillia, ON | Lo-Ellen Park Prep (OSBA) |
| Lireesa Gokhool-Jefferson | Vaughan, ON | Bill Crothers (OSBA) |
| Emma Weltz | Timmins, ON | Southwest Academy (OSBA) |
| Michelle Istead* | Ottawa, ON | St. Francis Xavier CHS |
| Laura Donovan* | London, ON | Southwest Academy (OSBA) |
| Isabella Belvedere* | Bolton, ON | Caledon Basketball Academy (OSBA) |
| Mikayla McFarlane | Kingston, ON | Kingston Impact / Frontenac SS |
| Julia Chadwick* | Ottawa, ON | Durham Elite (OSBA) |
| Abbey Hetherington | Kingston, ON | Kingston Impact / LaSalle SS |
* indicates Team Ontario alumni
Coaching Staff: Wumi Agunbiade, Assistant Coach (Team Ontario)
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Men’s Championships
The Men’s National Championship game was hosted in Halifax, NS, with the Carleton Ravens (Ottawa, ON) facing St. Francis Xavier University X-Men (Antagonish, NS).
Aiden Warnholtz, Connor Vreeken and Wazir Latiff all scored 20+ points for the Ravens, leading them to a high-scoring overtime victory, 109-104. Carleton’s domination of Canadian university men’s basketball continues – This marks their fourth title in a row and their 12th in the past 13 tournaments.
As with the women’s final, there were many familiar OBA faces on both teams in the men’s game:
Carleton Ravens
| Jacob Knight | Vaughan, ON | Vaughan SS (OSBA Junior Series) |
| Wazir Latiff | Vaughan, ON | Vaughan SS (OSBA) |
| Evan Meyer | Oshawa, ON | Canada Topflight Academy West |
| Emanuel Milon | Ottawa, ON | Fort Erie International Academy / TRC Academy (OSBA) |
| Connor Vreeken* | Kingston, ON | Frontenac Secondary School / Ottawa Elite |
| Aiden Warnholtz | Ottawa, ON | Canada Topflight Academy |
Coaching Staff: Davidson Sanelus, Assistant Coach (Team Ontario) & Zachary Angelini (Lincoln Prep – OSBA).
St. Francis Xavier X-Men
| Gatluak James | Windsor, ON | TRC Academy (OSBA) |
| Keyonte Beals | North Preston, NS | Orangeville Prep (OSBA) |
| Antoine Vernon | Hamilton, ON | TRC Academy (OSBA) |
| Marcus Upshaw* | Burlington, ON | Ridley College (OSBA) |
| Jeremy Coria | Mississauga, ON | St. Joan of Arc HS |
| Deon Ejim | Brampton, ON | TRC Academy (OSBA) |
| Zion James | Brampton, ON | Hodan Nalayeh (OSBA) |
| Steven Levnaic | Stoney Creek, ON | TRC Academy (OSBA) |
| Bennett Grumbach | Toronto, ON | TRC Academy (OSBA) |
| Michael Utsalo | Brampton, ON | Bill Crothers (OSBA) |
| Avan Nava* | Mississauga, ON | TRC Academy (OSBA) |
| David Muenkat | Brampton, ON | TRC Academy (OSBA) |
Coaching Staff: Tyrell Vernon, Head Coach (TRC Academy – OSBA), Denton Anthony, Assistant Coach (OBA)