Molson Joins Saskatchewan Ahead of Training Camp
The Buffalo, New York native has played with two teams in Cyprus, and Switzerland
The Saskatchewan Rattlers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) announced Friday that the club has signed 6-foot-4 Takal Molson from Buffalo, New York for the 2025 season. Molson will make his CEBL debut on May 15th when the Rattlers open their season at SaskTel Centre.
“Takal is going to bring some great versatility to our backcourt,” said General Manager and Vice-President of Basketball Operations, Barry Rawlyk. “Not only is he able to score from all three levels, he is a very capable playmaker, and even more importantly a willing and able defender. He will have a very good situation to show his abilities as a player here and we expect he will take full advantage of that opportunity.”
During his two-year professional career, Molson has played with two teams in Cyprus, and Switzerland. He has a career average of 18.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.9 assists, 1.9 steals, and 35.7 minutes in 32 games while shooting 51.6 per cent from the field.
Molson made his professional debut with Riviera Basket of Swiss LNA averaging 18.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 2.0 steals, and 37.0 minutes while shooting 50.3 per cent from the field in 26 games. While with Riviera, Molson finished top-three on the team in four stat categories; 480 total points, 185 total rebounds, 132 total assists, and 53 total steals. During this season, he set a career-high 33 points accompanied by eight rebounds, six assists, and three steals while shooting 84.6% from the field in 38 minutes on Sept 30th 2023. Riviera finished their season in the Swiss League Cup final with a loss to Union Nuechatel Basket. Molson was named to All-Swiss SBL First Team and Swiss SBL All-Imports Team. He earned All-Swiss SBL Player of the Year, All-Swiss SBL Guard of the Year, All-Swiss SBL Import of the Year, and All-Swiss SBL Defensive Player of the Year.
In his second professional season, he signed with Payabl EKA AEL Limassol of Cyprus-OPAP Basket League averaging 15.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 29.8 minutes while shooting 58.6 per cent from the field in six games.
Prior to his professional career, Molson five years in NCAA D1 with Canisius University, Seton Hall University, and James Madison University. He has a collegiate career average of 11.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.3 blocks and 27.3 minutes in 141 games.
In his rookie NCAA season with Canisius, Molson averaged 12.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 29.3 minutes starting in all 33 games. Canisius finished the season with their first conference regular-season title since 1994 with a record of 15-3. He earned MAAC Rookie of the Year, and was named to MAAC All-Rookie Team. As a sophomore, Molson was consistent with 16.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 32.7 minutes starting in all 32 games. He was named to All-MAAC First Team, and NABC All-District Second Team. Canisius finished as a second seed.
After transferring to Seton Hall playing in 27 games as a red shirt, Molson transferred to James Madison University for his final two NCAA seasons. During his time with the James Madison Dukes, he averaged 11.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 26.7 minutes in 49 games. He was honored with the 2023 Sun Belt Conference Commissoner’s Award in his final season.
“I’m excited to join the Rattlers and meet everyone,” said Molson. “I can’t wait to give the fans a show on both end of the court and focus on getting better as a team.”
Molson will join the Rattlers for the 2025 season to play alongside Elisha, Ampofo, Shane Osayande, 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.
###
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.
