Former CEBL Champion Osayande Rejoins Rattlers

The Saskatchewan Rattlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Wednesday that the club has signed 6-foot-7 Shane Osayande for the 2025 season, which is celebrated as his third season with the Rattlers and fifth in the CEBL.

The Toronto, Ontario native played 17 games over two seasons with the Saskatchewan Rattlers during the 2019 and 2020 season averaging 8.9 points and 6.3 rebounds while shooting 40 per cent from the field. Osayande played a key role during the 2019 CEBL Championship final with 14 points, nine rebounds, and one steal in 27 minutes while shooting 45.5 per cent from the field. The Rattlers won the 2019 CEBL Championship with a 94 to 83 win over the Hamilton Honey Badgers.

“We are very happy to welcome Shane back to Saskatoon. He is obviously very familiar with the community after having spent time here as a college student-athlete and as a member of the Rattlers,” said General Manager and Vice-President of Basketball Operations, Barry Rawlyk. “His experience and athleticism will prove to be great assets for the team, and we expect him to provide some veteran leadership. Shane is a tough competitor and will certainly be an important catalyst to our success.”

In his six-year professional career, Osayande has played with eight teams in Canada, Venezuela, North Spain, Germany, Lebanon and Qatar. He has a career average of 8.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.7 steals, 1.2 blocks, and 21.4 minutes in 133 games. 

Osayande spent three seasons playing in the LEB Silver Club in Spain representing Toros in 2017-18, Circulo Gijon in 2018-19, and CB Prat Juventud in 2019-20. After the 2020 CEBL Summer Series, he signed with Futebol Club Barreirense in the Portuguese top league LPB (Portugal) for the 2020-21 season where he averaged 10.8 points and 7.1 rebounds in 8 games. Osayande then signed with Team Ehingen Urspring in the ProA (Germany) in 2021, where he played 7 games and averaged 8.4 points and 4.9 rebounds. Osayande most recently played for Al-Najma Manama in the Premier League (Bahrain). He has also played for the Palestine National Team, and won the Palestinian Basketball League Championship during the 2022 season.

He signed with the Winnipeg Sea Bears for the 2023 season, where he played in 17 games with seven appearances in the starting line-up during the team’s Western Conference leading regular season run. Osayande returned to the Sea Bears for the 2024 season playing in 13 regular season games. In 46 career CEBL games played, Osayande is ranked top-20 all-time for blocked shots (30).

Prior to his time with Saskatchewan, Osayande spent time at Lakeland College before transferring to the University of Saskatchewan Huskies to be coached under current Rattlers General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations, Barry Rawlyk. While with the Huskies he averaged 15.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 2.1 blocks, 0.9 steals, and 27.3 minutes over 47 games while shooting 47.1 per cent from the field. As a senior in 2017, he was named to All-Canada West First Team, and CIS All-Canadian Second Team. 

“I’m really excited to be joining the Saskatchewan rattlers this summer. It’s kind of where it all started for me. Going to the University in Sask and then winning the inaugural CEBL Championship there was a great experience,” said Osayande. “I’m happy to see some new and familiar faces. Thrilled to get to work and doing all I can to help the team achieve the goals we set out for this season.”

Osayande will join the Rattlers for the 2025 season to play alongside Elijah Ifejeh, Dondre Reddick, Grant Anticevich, Deon Ejim, Anthony Tsegakele, Jaden Bediako, Cody John, Jamir Chaplin, Nate Pierre-Louis, Isaac Simon, Declan Peterson, and Easton Thimm. Canadian Elite Basketball League free agency will continue leading up to the announcement of the full training camp roster prior to the Saskatchewan Rattlers home opener on May 15, 2025 at SaskTel Centre. 

The full 2025 Rattlers schedule has been released, which features a new 24-game slate. The 2025 CEBL Playoffs are scheduled to begin Thursday, August 14 with the Conference Play-In games, followed by the Conference Semifinals on Saturday, August 16. The winners will advance to CW25 to join the Winnipeg Sea Bears (host team) and the top-ranked team from the Eastern Conference who are automatically seeded into the Conference Finals. The full playoff schedule with tipoff times will be announced at a later date.

General public and returning season ticket members can claim their seats for the entire Rattlers 2025 season by using Account Manager. Season tickets starting at $235 in the bronze. All tickets can also be purchased through the Rattlers Front Office (306) 244-2181, Saskatchewan Rattlers website, or via Ticketmaster. Flex Ticket Bundles can be purchased online or at the Rattlers Front Office, which features a minimum of four-tickets in any section with a bonus gift card to Moxies. Single game tickets are available now via Ticketmaster. For more seating options, suites, and group rates; fans can contact an account executive.

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About the Saskatchewan Rattlers

The Saskatchewan Rattlers are Saskatchewan’s professional basketball team, one of the six

original teams in the CEBL – the Rattlers won the 2019 inaugural season championship. Playing out of SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – the Rattlers offer an entertainment-focused environment surrounded by some of the world’s top professional athletes. The Rattlers are a community-first organization and take pride in their ability to bring communities together while making sport more accessible to the province.