River Lions Announce Return of Captain Kimbal Mackenzie
St. Catharines, ON - The Niagara River Lions today announced the re-signing of 6’1 Canadian guard Kimbal Mackenzie for the upcoming 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) season. The 28-year-old Oakville, Ontario native is returning to the River Lions after captaining the team to a 2024 CEBL championship, where he averaged 6.2 points and 1.9 assists in 13.8 minutes per game. Mackenzie joins Jahvon Blair and Nathan Cayo as the third key returnee for the River Lions heading into the 2025 campaign.
“Bringing Kimbal back for the 2025 season was incredibly important for our team. He has been the leader of the locker room, and has been excellent on the court,” said Head Coach and General Manager, Victor Raso. “He has a rare ability to make those around him better on a constant basis. He is a proven leader and winner, and we're thrilled to have him back again!"
Mackenzie spent his collegiate career at
Bucknell University, where he made his mark as a leader, starting 89 out of 122 games and finishing as the 18th all-time scorer in program history with 1,330 career points. As a senior, he averaged 17.6 points and 3 assists per game.
Mackenzie first played in the CEBL with the Guelph Nighthawks (now
Calgary Surge), then spent a season in Spain where he played on a one year contract for the
LEB
Gold League’s
Huesca team from 2020- 2021 before eventually becoming part of the River Lions in 2023. Mackenzie spent three international seasons as a standout player for the Leicester Riders of the
British Basketball League (BBL). He also captained the Riders in 2023 and earned a spot on the 24-man
Great Britain National Team for the
Eurobasket Qualifiers. In his last season with the Riders, he averaged 13.2 points and 5.2 assists in 27.3 minutes per game.
After winning the 2024 CEBL Championship, Mackenzie took on the role of interim Head Coach at
Niagara College for the
Knights women’s basketball program where he led the team to a 14-2 record.
Mackenzie shared his excitement about returning to the River Lions, “Niagara is where I want to be. I'm eager to get our title defence started, and to continue our winning ways.” said Mackenzie. “I can't wait to be back in the Meridian Centre playing in front of the best fans in the league!"
The Niagara River Lions are one of the original six teams of the CEBL and the league's reigning champions. Playing out of
Meridian Centre in downtown St. Catharines, the River Lions represent the twelve municipalities of the Niagara Region while living up to the River Lions moniker of pride and strength of community. Visit
www.riverlions.ca/tickets for more information.
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Mya Hastings
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