It’s become a tradition here at Bodog Sportsbook: our annual list of the five Canadian players to keep an eye on at the NCAA Division I Men’s College Basketball Tournament. A record 170 Canadians went south of the border this year to play D-1 men’s hoops. We might not have a dominant figure leading the way like two-time Wooden Award winner Zach Edey, who made it to the 2024 Championship Game with Purdue, but our overall talent level has never been higher.
That’s partly because of the money. Thanks to all that NIL cash student-athletes are allowed to receive, more and more players are staying in school rather than turning pro just yet. You’ll see some familiar Canadians on this year’s list of five Canadians to look out for at March Madness, including our first entry from Aurora, Ontario.
Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga Bulldogs
Nembhard has already punched his ticket to the Big Dance, leading Gonzaga (24-8 SU, 13-18 ATS) to a 58-51 win over Saint Mary’s (+3.5) in Tuesday’s West Coast Conference final. The 6-foot point guard posted 10 points, six assists and three steals to help Gonzaga seal the automatic bid; Nembhard leads all D-1 players this year at 9.8 assists per game.
This will be Nembhard’s third March Madness appearance, having reached the Elite Eight with the Creighton Bluejays in 2023 before transferring to Gonzaga. Things didn’t go as well as hoped; the Bulldogs couldn’t get past Edey and the Boilermakers in the Sweet 16, losing 80-68 as 4.5-point underdogs despite 14 points and seven assists from Nembhard.
According to Gonzaga assistant coach Stephen Gentry, that tough loss motivated Nembhard to step up even higher. “Ryan is our biggest gym rat. He’s our biggest film junkie,” Gentry told CBC Sports. “He’s a terrific leader in terms of example, with his work ethic and habits. That’s why he’s taken his game to another level this year.”
We saw similar growth with Ryan’s brother Andrew, who also starred at Gonzaga before going to the Indiana Pacers in the second round of the 2022 NBA Draft. It appears Ryan is playing his way into this year’s draft as well; rumour has it Nembhard could land with the Orlando Magic at No. 57. In the meantime, we’ll see if he can finally get Gonzaga over the hump at the Big Dance.
Will Riley, Illinois Fighting Illini
Riley was Canada’s hottest commodity heading into the 2024-25 college hoops season. He’s still our highest-ranked prospect for the 2025 NBA Draft, with the Charlotte Hornets among those interested at Nos. 33-34 (they have both picks). The 6-foot-9 freshman small forward from Kitchener, Ontario was just named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year after posting 12.2 points, 3.9 boards and 2.3 assists in 24.9 minutes per game at Illinois.
It’s not quite a done deal that Riley and the Fighting Illini will make it to March Madness, but they’re close. Illinois (20-11 SU, 15-15-1 ATS) is the 7-seed for this year’s Big Ten Tournament, giving them the bye until Thursday’s second round. The Big Ten is projected to send 10 teams to the Big Dance, with the Illini pencilled in as a 6-seed.
Assuming they get in, Riley will provide Illinois with the kind of skill set that Toronto Raptors fans have gotten used to in recent years. He’s a jumbo guard who can slide into the frontcourt and defend multiple positions, not unlike Scottie Barnes – and Riley will have to develop his jumper just like Barnes did if he wants to make a dent in the NBA.
Emanuel Sharp, Houston Cougars
Another returning figure on this list, Sharp was born in Tel Aviv in 2004, but holds American and Canadian citizenship as well as Israeli. His mother is Hamilton’s own Justine Ellison Sharp, the former CIAU Athlete of the Year with the 1994-95 U of T Varsity Blues.
Now a redshirt junior at Houston (27-4 SU, 16-14-1 ATS), Sharp made the 2023 ACC All-Freshman Team as their sixth man before starting at shooting guard the past two seasons – including last year alongside current Raptors PG Jamal Shead. From an efficiency standpoint, Sharp is off the charts, leading all D-1 players by various plus-minus stats. But he’s a bit undersized at 6-foot-4 for the modern 2-spot.
We’ve had ample opportunity to see Sharp do his thing at March Madness. The Cougars made the Sweet Sixteen each of the past two years, falling to Miami and Duke respectively – but they were expected to do more. This year’s team is No. 2 in the national rankings behind the Blue Devils, and locked in for a No. 1 seed at the Big Dance if they make it through the Big 12 Tournament unscathed, starting with Thursday’s quarterfinal round.
Aden Holloway, Alabama Crimson Tide
Does Canada specialize in shorter guards? Actually, Holloway is a Canadian-American product at 6-foot-1, born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. His Canuck roots trace back to Holloway’s maternal grandfather, Dave Raimey, an American who made the Canadian Football Hall of Fame as a CFL All-Star and Grey Cup champion for both the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and Toronto Argonauts.
Holloway used that connection to join Team Canada’s developmental pipeline at the U19 level, although he didn’t end up playing at last year’s World Juniors. But the former McDonald’s All-American did make it to the Big Dance as a freshman at Auburn – only to crash out versus No. 13 Yale in the opening round and transfer to Alabama.
You know Holloway must have been serious about leaving Auburn if he was going to join the “Dark Side” of their Iron Bowl rivalry. Even though he’s coming off the bench now, the fit with Nate Oats in Tuscaloosa has been much better than it was under Bruce Pearl; Holloway’s raw numbers have improved in nearly every category (including his 11.5 points per game, up from 7.3 last year), and his advanced efficiency stats are even more promising.
Now all Holloway has to do is win the National Championship. Alabama (24-7 SU, 18-13 ATS) is No. 5 in the polls and a likely 2-seed at the Big Dance if they don’t get tripped up at the SEC Tournament, where they’ve earned the bye into Friday’s quarterfinal round.
Josh Omojafo, Robert Morris Colonials
It happens every year: Canadian players on college basketball’s “bubble teams” wait and see whether they’ll make it into the tournament, either through an at-large bid or by winning their conference. Alas, we didn’t get to see Princeton guard Xaivian Lee last year after the Tigers made the Sweet Sixteen in 2023 – and we’ll probably miss out this year too, unless Princeton (19-10 SU, 7-19-1 ATS) can make something happen this weekend as the 4-seed in the four-team Ivy League tournament.
Meanwhile, Josh Omojafo’s wait is over: The pride of Hamilton is going to the Dance after dropping 24 points and 13 rebounds on Youngstown State (+4) this past Tuesday, leading Robert Morris to an 89-78 victory and the Horizon League title. Omojafo isn’t one of the most famous names in Canadian basketball, but the 6-foot-5 guard was a Division II second-team All-American at Gannon University, making last year’s Top 50 Watch List for the Bevo Francis Award as the top “small college” basketball player in the US.
Omojafo made the leap to Division I last May, joining RMU (25-8 SU, 23-6 ATS) and head coach Andy Toole as their first commitment from the transfer portal. It’s been a somewhat pedestrian junior year for Omojafo: 11.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists in 30 minutes per game, primarily as a starter. But his 3-point shooting has improved dramatically since the early months, and his combined 3-for-7 in three games helped put Omojafo on the Horizon League All-Tournament Team. How close will Omojafo and the Colonials come to cutting down the nets at the Alamodome in San Antonio? He does have Horizon Tournament MVP Kam Woods by his side, and Robert Morris is no stranger to the Big Dance, having been there eight times before – most recently with Toole in 2015.
Sadly, the Colonials have never been past the Round of 64. They won their First Four game in 2015, and a preliminary round matchup in 1983 when there were 52 teams in the March Madness bracket, and that’s it. Going on a deep run as a projected No. 15 seed will be tough, but the Saint Peter’s Peacocks went all the way to the Elite Eight in 2022, so it can be done.
There will be even more Canadian players to keep track of at this year’s men’s tournament – not to mention all of the talented athletes in the women’s tournament, where the D-1 champions will be crowned April 6 at Amalie Arena in Tampa. Bodog Sportsbook is your home for the complete list of March Madness odds. Enjoy the Big Dance, and may the best teams win.