The Brock Badgers are excited to announce Andrew McKenna of the men’s basketball team is transferring to the University of the Pacific in California.
 
McKenna, a Sport Management student from Kingston, has been a key member of the Badgers and a rising star in Canadian university basketball.
 
His move to join the Tigers’ varsity basketball team on a full NCAA Division I scholarship, along with an NIL agreement, marks a significant milestone both for him and the Brock men’s basketball program.
 
The following is a message from head coach, Willy Manigat, reflecting on McKenna’s journey and accomplishments:
 
Despite losing one of the important members of our young core, today, albeit bittersweet, is a day to celebrate Andrew and his family, as well as yet another accomplishment for our program.
 
Andrew came to us as a Grade 12 graduate out of Frontenac Secondary School in Kingston, who had not played prep basketball nor been on a provincial or national team—a basketball landscape that might suggest him to be an afterthought. But we knew we had found a gem and a foundational piece for our future. A year later, he is leaving us to pursue an NCAA Division I full-ride scholarship, along with an NIL agreement, making him the first U SPORTS player to leave after his first year in this name, image, and likeness era. In this new NIL landscape, more Canadian players have received Division I offers this recruiting cycle out of U SPORTS than from junior colleges, Division 2 or 3, and NAIA.
 
This accomplishment also speaks to the level of university basketball in Canada and the excellent work my counterparts do with the resources they have. We take great pride in being the only program to develop a first-year student-athlete to achieve this opportunity. Year after year Canadian high school and prep players go down south with the hopes of chasing their dream of playing Division 1 basketball and it is becoming abundantly clear that U SPORTS is the better option in this landscape. Andrew understood and valued the development and care that would be provided here, and it has paid off and hopefully more players and coaches come to that realization.
 
My goal when I became a head coach was always to put my players and their development first, ahead of our program. As a result, we have seen TJ Lall, the OUA West Player of the Year in 2022, just sign his third professional contract to play in Belgium next year, on the heels of winning a CEBL Championship with the Niagara River Lions. Jordan Tchuente, also a CEBL Champion this summer and an OUA All-Star last year, just signed his first professional contract to play in France, despite having another year of eligibility. Kascius Small-Martin, a 2024 grad, just won a championship in Asia alongside Dwight Howard and DeMarcus Cousins, both future NBA Hall of Famers. Godsman Kwakwah and Daniel Caldwell just finished their first season playing in Portugal, and the list goes on. Andrew now becomes just another success story, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. We are very confident he will not be the last of his kind at Brock.
 
I want to take this time to also thank Andrew’s parents, Mark and Talya, for being so welcoming and for entrusting me with their son. Throughout Andrew’s recruitment in Grade 12 and his time last year at Brock, they did nothing but support my vision and allowed me to do what I felt was necessary for Andrew’s development. In my eight years of recruitment, there has never been a better experience.
 
Now, as we lose such a vital piece this late in the summer ahead of the season, it is my job as the leader of this program to pivot and prepare our current roster for the upcoming season and all that lies ahead. As I’ve always said to our groups each year, success can be measured in many ways, but here at Brock, it will continue to be about taking the potential we have and overachieving. We look forward to seeing you all out for yet another wonderful ride!