The CMU Men's Basketball program has announced the commitment of Mekhi Lisan for the 2024-25 MCAC and NIAC seasons. The Blazers are adding a dynamic point guard in Lisan, with American prep school and Team Manitoba experience, which he'll look to translate to the court here at home in front of family and friends for the first time in years.
To say Lisan's path to the Blazers has been a winding road would be a massive understatement, having attended four different high schools in four years, and then having his first college season cut short this past year due to a school closure. A Winnipeg native, Lisan started his high school career at Maples Collegiate, the same school that produced recently-graduated big man Ezra Leano, who helped the Blazers capture their first MCAC Championships since 2017. After his first junior varsity season, the talented guard headed south to West Virginia and Huntington Prep, where he first cut his teeth in the American prep school scene. 2020 brought about big changes globally, and so Lisan returned to Winnipeg to Garden City Collegiate for his grade eleven year, though no season was played due to the pandemic. With one more year of high school eligibility, Lisan returned to the States for his grade twelve year, this time to Jacksonville, Florida and Potter's House Christian Academy, another prep school that competes in the SIAA Conference. There he saw some top competition, none bigger than at the Chik-Fil-A Classic in nearby South Carolina, a huge tournament with top schools from the wider region. At Potter's House Lisan trained alongside plenty of NCAA Division I talent, and is hoping to bring that top-tier experience back to Winnipeg this season.
On the club side, Lisan has trained primarily with Team Manitoba during his summers at home, but also with Junior Bisons during his 15U season, and credits Jeff Laping, his coach there, with teaching him all the little details of the game. That same year he also split time with Grassroots Canada, a club based out of Toronto, where he got to play with the number-one ranked player in Canada of his age cohort, and saw top club competition from across North America at the Portland Adidas Tournament. Following his high school graduation in spring of 2023, Lisan joined new CMU teammate Marco Guaring to compete at the NBTC in Philippines, a tournament featuring Filipino teams from all over the world. The showcase was meant to be a warmup for his first college season after he signed with the Antelope Valley Pioneers in southern California, playing in the NAIA. However, that season was short lived, as the campaign came to an early end at Christmas, as the school shuttered its doors, leaving its student-athletes with no home or supporting institution.
After playing so much basketball abroad, Lisan is excited to finally play in front of friends and family here at home, something he hasn't been able to do regularly since his grade nine season at Maples Collegiate. His coach there, Riley Smith, is now an assistant with the Blazers and notes "Mekhi is the most naturally talented player I've had the pleasure to work with, and I'm beyond excited to see what he can do at this level!" Lisan is excited to renew relationships with his coaches, as he has also featured on Team Manitoba squads that CMU head coach Scott Martin has been involved with. Martin is intrigued by the talent Lisan can bring to his team this season, noting his smart play, deep range and high-level prep experience as big assets that he will bring to the Blazers. Familiar with many others already on the team such as rookies from last year Derian Castaneda, Lance Catipon, and Isaiah Araya, Lisan is expected to be a game-ready addition to the roster as the Blazers are scheduled for pre-season tuneups at Briercrest and Medicine Hat in mid-September ahead of the start of their MCAC and NIAC campaigns.
The Blazers Men's Basketball program captured their first MCAC title since 2017 this past March, and a revamped NIAC and MCAC schedule that sees the St Boniface Rouges enter the American conference looks to make for another exciting campaign both here in Manitoba as well as in the Northern United States as the team looks to defend their Manitoba title and challenge for a NIAC Championship banner in 2025.