Saskatchewan’s pro basketball club drops ‘Rattlers’ from name, looking for new GM

After only two weeks into the new year, the Saskatchewan Rattlers have already made some big changes.

The team said on its website and in social media posts that it would not be renewing the contract with General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Barry Rawlyk.

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Rawlyk spent seven seasons with the franchise and served as the lead assistant coach during the team’s 2019 championship season.

He was no stranger to the Saskatchewan basketball scene. Rawlyk spent more than two decades as a coach at Saskatoon’s Holy Cross High School, winning multiple city and provincial championships. He was also head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s program for 12 seasons until his departure in 2022.

The team said it has already begun searching for a replacement and that a “new era of basketball in Saskatoon will be unveiled soon.”

In addition, the team has also changed both its social media and website, dropping “Rattlers” from its name. It is now named Saskatchewan Professional Basketball Club.

The Rattlers team first began as one of six charter franchises in the Canadian Elite Basketball League in 2018.

It was the first time the province had a professional basketball team since 2001, when the Saskatchewan Hawks of the International Basketball Association folded.

— with files from CKOM News

Read more:

• O’Day, Mace busy as CFL winter meetings get underway
• Saskatoon’s Emily Clark named to Canadian women’s Olympic hockey team
• Kelly Knapp punches ticket to Brier with 9-4 win at 2026 Tankard