HIGH ACHIEVERS: Canada Topflight Academy takes flight into prestigious American prep basketball league

By Martin Cleary

Canada Topflight Academy has hit the big time, when it comes to playing high school prep boys’ basketball in North America.

Turning nine years old this season, Ottawa’s premier pathway to developing university basketball players hopes to turn heads in the Elite Prep League as it ventures into one of the best post-grad circuits on the continent.

CTA, which was founded and is coached by Tony House, is the only Canadian entry in the league and will face nine American squads scattered over the eastern part of the United States. The 10 teams will play a seven-week schedule from December through February.

“Have to admit, one of the best days of my life,” House recently wrote on social media, when the Elite Prep League accepted the CTA application.

“I’ve worked hard to get CTA prominent on a national stage (and) we are now on an international one. We got selected to participate in one of the best platforms in North America!”

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The Elite Prep League is designed for the best high school graduates, who return for one additional year to polish their athletic skills and academic grades to earn the best scholarship they can at the NCAA, JUCO (Junior College) or U Sports levels.

House is the head coach of the CTA’s National Gold team, which will represent Ottawa and Canada in the league. He also is the head coach of the CTA Senior Red team. Both teams are based out of Notre Dame High School. The CTA’s Senior Black and Junior teams are operated out of St. Pius X High School.

For the past two years, House has been writing and polishing the CTA resume – National Preparatory Association champion in 2017 and 2018, a top-five to top-10 prep program ranking in Canada and about a dozen players recruited to NCAA Division 1 universities – and he finally sold the Elite Prep League with a power-point presentation.

“Forty-five other schools applied and I’m happy, excited and proud to represent Ottawa and Canada,” House said in a phone interview this week. “We’re the only Canadian team.

“I’ve been trying to get into the league for a couple of years. I’ve begged. I’ve pleaded. They felt our pedigree and resume was good to go and decided to give us a shot.”

The CTA National Gold team, which will be primarily composed of post-grad student-athletes with the addition of a few Grade-12 student-athletes, also will play in the Platinum Circuit, which is a premium level for prep programs in Canada.

The CTA Senior Red team also will play in the Platinum Circuit as well as in the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association league. The CTA Senior Black squad will compete in the Platinum Circuit and the OSBA Trillium League, while the CTA Junior team, which is for Grade 9 and 10 student-athletes, will develop their skills in the National Junior Circuit and the OSBA.

The other nine teams in the Elite Prep League are Fork Union Military Academy, Hargrave Military Academy, Highland School and Massanutten, all of Virginia, Andrews Osborne Academy of Ohio, Mt. Zion Prep of Maryland, Perkiomen of Pennsylvania, The Skill Factory National of Georgia and Winston-Salem Christian of North Carolina.

The CTA National Gold and CTA Senior Red teams are scheduled to open the U.S-portion of their 2024-25 season this weekend at the Commonwealth Basketball Organization JUCO/Prep Jamboree in Glen Allen, Virginia. They are expected to play four, time-shortened games each over Saturday and Sunday.

The Elite Basketball League schedule will cover six weekends from Dec. 6-8 until Feb. 15-16. The finals will be staged Feb. 19-21 in Richmond, Virginia.

The Grind Session is another highly-respected, post-grad prep league and Canada has several teams in the American-based loop. Orangeville Prep of Mono, ON., Royal Crown School of Toronto and Western Canada Prep of Edmonton are in the boys’ division, while Bond Academy of Toronto and Fort Erie International are in the girls’ class. Ft. Erie International also has a team in the Power Conference.

“This platform will give us amazing competition and exposure to NCAA and JUCO coaches,” House said about the CTA National Gold team’s entrance into the Elite Prep League.

“Top players always chase the American prep schools or teams in Canada with American schools on their schedule. But they don’t have to go anywhere. We are in the U.S. 10 weeks a year.”

Besides recruiting the best talent for his CTA teams, House also is responsible for raising the money to cover the cost of a growing budget. Hotel and van rentals will be the largest items on the $120,000 budget for the National Gold team. The Elite Prep League entry fee is $2,500 (U.S.).

Student-athletes pay a tuition fee to join the various CTA programs. If a student-athlete can’t afford the fee, House spends many hours fundraising and trying to attract corporate sponsors to make it happen.

House selected the players for his various teams through several avenues. The CTA sponsors the annual Ottawa high school basketball all-star games, stages formal identification sessions, holds two or three open tryouts in the spring and receives letters from interested student-athletes.

House is excited and positive about his National Gold squad for this season. Guard Dylan Kayijuka, one of the top juniors from Rwanda, has returned for a second season with the CTA.

Kayijuka was one of the key players as Rwanda reached the quarterfinals of the FIBA boys’ U18 AfroBasket championship in Pretoria, this summer. Rwanda qualified by winning the silver medal at the Africa Zone V championship. Kayijuka was the fourth top scorer in AfroBasket championship and second-best on his team with an average of 17.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.2 steals a game.

Guards Ateny Kuol of London and Waris Ngoya of Winnipeg and forward Mateo Andjelic also will be impact players for the CTA National Gold.

The top two CTA teams started their season last month at the Brookwood Elite Montreal Prep Showcase. The National Gold and Senior Red teams each lost both of their games.

“I platooned my players, five minutes on and five minutes off,” House said. “Winning is important, but not the main thing in September and October.”

On Oct. 26, House will present CTA Fights Cancer with a doubleheader in the Notre Dame High School gym. The noon game features Ottawa Next Level-X Rise against CTA Black, and the 2 p.m. match will see CTA National Gold take on CTA Senior Red. Tickets are $20 each and the money raised will be used to support cancer services in the Ottawa region.