Bandits extend CEBL Coach of the Year Julius through 2026 season
Published
LANGLEY, BC, Oct. 23, 2024 – The Vancouver Bandits announced Wednesday that the club has extended its head coach and general manager, Kyle Julius, through the 2025 and 2026 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) seasons in a year-round capacity.
Julius joined the club in 2020 during the Bandits’ second CEBL season and made an immediate impact, helping the team advance to its first-ever CEBL championship in his dual role. Fast forward to 2024 and Julius once again led the Bandits to the CEBL finals this past August, losing by just two points to the Niagara River Lions.
A native of Thunder Bay, Ont., Julius’ tenure with the Bandits has fuelled the rise of BC’s pro basketball team to become an annual CEBL contender. Vancouver has advanced to the CEBL postseason in each of his five seasons at the helm and has won various individual and team accolades along the way; including Julius being named Coach of the Year at the league’s annual awards last August in Montréal.
“The past five seasons with the Bandits have been an incredibly rewarding experience for my family and I. It has been truly amazing to have the opportunity to live here locally, build relationships in the community and help drive the growth of the Bandits and develop the club into the CEBL’s premier organization,” Julius said.
“We have created a winning culture here in BC through tremendous hard work, trials, tribulations and lots of special moments. Our coaching staff has consisted of great people, our players have been outstanding and our front office has contributed on so many different levels.”
The Bandits finished the 2024 season with a 14-6 record – the club’s best regular season result in franchise history. At 2024 CEBL Championship Weekend, Julius led the franchise to win its first-ever western conference championship.
The CEBL campaign is expanding to a 24-game regular season slate in 2025. With the club’s best-ever finish and numerous individual and team accomplishments to its name over the past five seasons under the direction of Julius, the organization is primed for an even bigger year ahead.
“Coach Kyle is an instrumental part of our organization. Over five seasons of Bandits Basketball, he has instilled core values in our roster and front office that continue to resonate and attract talent to our team. His leadership as a community ambassador during the CEBL offseason and a tactician on the court each summer has been inspiring to watch and we will continue to support his vision for winning basketball and community impact over the next two years,” said Bandits team president Dylan Kular.
Organizational and roster development is integral to Julius’ approach to recruiting coaches and players. Since joining Vancouver, Julius has created a nurturing culture where players can learn and grow, often earning CEBL award recognition and receiving overseas and NBA contracts following a summer with the Bandits.
Players earning notable distinctions following a season with the Bandits include:
2024 CEBL Most Valuable Player: Tazé Moore
2024 CEBL Canadian Player of the Year: Koby McEwen
2022 CEBL Developmental Player of the Year: Thomas Kennedy
2021 Defensive Player of the Year: Brandon Gilbeck
“I am very grateful for everyone's hard work, sacrifice and support of our vision to become one of the best sports franchises in all of North America. I am thrilled to build on what we have all worked so hard to create here for the past five summers. We have the best fans in the league and I can't wait to get back out there in front of them again at LEC,” Julius said.
“On behalf of the Julius family, I want to genuinely thank our ownership of Kevin Dhaliwal and Bryan Slusarchuk, as well as our team president Dylan Kular for their unwavering support and collaborative efforts in building our vision and culture.”
In addition to establishing the Bandits as a perennial contender on the court, Julius has planted far-reaching roots in the province’s basketball community; conducting more than 50 school visits to middle and secondary schools across the Lower Mainland during the 2023-24 CEBL offseason, hosting virtual and in-person Basketball BC and Canada Basketball coaching seminars and leading weekly Train Like A Bandit skill sessions for high school boys and girls athletes this fall at the Bandits’ home venue of Langley Events Centre (LEC).
The Bandits’ seventh CEBL season will tip-off in May 2025. A full season schedule is expected to be announced in the coming months.
Featuring newly added Courtside Club seating options and a revamped seating bowl configuration, season tickets for the Vancouver Bandits’ 2025 season are on sale now at this link.
More information is available at thebandits.ca and @vancouverbandits on Instagram and TikTok, as well as @vancitybandits on Facebook and Twitter.