Canada Tour




Player Journals


Click here to read first-hand experiences from the SMU Student-Athletes on their tour of Canada. 


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Lacey, Wash. – The Saint Martin's Men's Basketball Team, fresh off it's second winning season in as many years, will take part in an international trip to Canada for six days in August.
 
The Saints will travel to Vancouver, BC and stay at Fortius Sport & Health centre, which also happens to be the training camp location for the NBA's Toronto Raptors.  The team will play two games in Vancouver and one game in Langley, BC, before returning back to Lacey. 
 
"This trip is an excellent opportunity for our program to grow," head coach Alex Pribble said. "We have eight new players joining the team, so this tour will give us a chance to create relationships and begin the development process for the upcoming season."
 
The Saints will get 10 practices to prepare for the tour, which will take place August 11-16. All returning student athletes and NCAA qualified incoming players, will be able to participate in the practices and foreign tour. According the NCAA legislation, collegiate teams are allowed to take a foreign trip once every four years.
 
"We want this to be a unique and memorable experience for our student-athletes. There is no doubt that it will be beneficial from a basketball point of view, but we are equally excited about exploring Vancouver and Victoria, doing some fun off the court bonding activities, and getting to know each other better on a personal level."
 
The Men's Basketball team returns six members of the 2016-2017 team that finished 17-13 and earned it's first ever conference tournament victory. Leading that group are Rhett Baerlocher and Jordan Kitchen, who started 21 games and 27 games respectively last season for the Saints. The trip will also be an opportunity for redshirt sophomore Michael Painter to make his return to the court.
 
"We want to thank our administration, athletic director Bob Grisham, and our tremendous athletic boosters and supporters- who have made this trip possible. This will be a great experience for everyone in our program, thanks to your generosity."