Fresh off a breakout season, Kato Jaro has earned his first shot at pro basketball.
Jaro, a third-year guard with the Winnipeg Wesmen men’s basketball team, was signed by the Winnipeg Sea Bears as part of the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s U Sports/CCAA Signing Day on Wednesday.
The CEBL replaced its annual draft with this year’s Signing Day, which allots two picks per franchise from the university and Canadian college ranks.
Jaro earned multiple honours across the country this season. In February, he earned his first ever all-conference honour when he was named first-team all-Canada West. A couple of weeks later, he was named a second-team all-Canadian.
Jaro, who appeared in all 40 conference games over his first two seasons with the Wesmen, became a full-time starter in 2025-26, starting all 19 games in which he appeared, missing only the conference season finale at Saskatchewan.
He led a balanced Wesmen team in scoring with a career-high 14.9 points per game and was one of the top distributors in the nation, ranking fourth in U Sports and third in Canada West with 5.6 assists per game as Winnipeg posted its second straight 16-4 season.
Jaro, who ranked fifth in the country in minutes played (33.6), posted career-highs with 38 made threes and an 87.1 per cent rate at the free throw line.
Wesmen head coach Mike Raimbault, who will enter his first season as the head coach of the Sea Bears, was happy to bring on his all-star point guard to gain valuable experience at the professional level.
“It’s exciting to see Kato take the next step in his developmental journey,” Raimbault said. “He’s worked hard, had a great season and is ready to take on the next challenges ahead.”
Jaro is the second Wesmen to be selected by the Sea Bears, joining former Wesmen guard Shawn Maranan, who was selected in the 2024 draft. Former Wesmen Jelane Pryce and Narcisse Ambanza have also had their names called in previous CEBL drafts.
