With 10 days to go before the first 2025 AmeriCup Qualifying Window, Canada Basketball finally announced a 14-man training camp roster. Kyle Alexander, Trae Bell-Haynes and Phil Scrubb all return for national team duties after representing Canada at the 2023 World Cup, headlining a strong group of players from the “Winter Core”.
Back in the mix after a year off is Kyle Wiltjer, which is a huge addition. At the FIBA Americas level, Wiltjer is capable of shouldering a primary offensive creation burden with incredible efficiency. In the 4 FIBA 2023 WC Qualifier games he played in, Wiltjer averaged 21.8 PTS on 57.4/56.7/88.9 shooting splits. Expect more of the same in this window.
Rounding out the training camp roster are SMNT vets Kaza Kajami-Keane, Aaron Best and Kalif Young, along with the younger crop of potential future “Winter Core” stalwarts in Thomas Kennedy and Jackson Rowe. Make no mistake, while this isn’t Canada’s strongest SMNT roster, it is still deep and talented. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the 2022 AmeriCup Qualifying roster and compare for yourself.
Canada (6th) currently sits in Group C, along with the Dominican Republic (18th), Mexico (25th) and the host of the 2025 AmeriCup, Nicaragua. If Nicaragua finishes last in the group (a likely scenario as they are currently ranked 73rd), Canada would need to finish top 2 in Group C to qualify for the 2025 FIBA AmeriCup. Otherwise, a top 3 finish will be enough to clinch a spot in the AmeriCup.
Canada kicks off this qualifying window vs Nicaragua in St. Catharines, Ontario on February 23rd @ 7:10 PM EST before flying to Managua to face off against Nicaragua again on February 26th @ 8:10 PM EST. For the SMNT, this window should be about taking care of business. Don’t let Nicaragua hang around and create a points differential cushion.
