2026 Team Alberta Coaches

15U Boys Coaches

Head Coach: Cole Wijeyaratnam

Cole Wijeyaratnam takes over as head coach of the ABA 15U men, after spending the past two years as an assistant coach, helping the team capture back-to-back bronze medals at the Canada Basketball National Championships in 2024 and 2025.

A native of Edmonton, Wijeyaratnam’s provincial team experience began with the ABA 15U women. He started as a volunteer coach in 2022, before serving as an apprentice coach the following year.

Wikeyaratnam has been coaching for more than a decade at every level of the game, from grassroots and school teams to club and post-secondary programs. He is currently assistant coach of men’s basketball at MacEwan University.

Assistant Coach: Adrian Tomlinson

Adrian Tomlinson is back with the ABA 15U men, after serving as an apprentice coach with the team in 2025.  

Tomlison is currently an assistant coach of men’s basketball at Olds College, as well as head coach of Supreme Hoops Canada. He previously served as head coach of the Calgary Jewish Academy boys’ hoops team.

A native of Toronto, Tomlinson played collegiately at St. Lawrence College in London, Ont., where he won the OCAA Rookie of the Year award and was named an East Division First Team All-Star in 2010-11.

Assistant Coach: Ismail Khedri

Ismail Khedri currently works as an assistant coach and recruiter with the University of Saskatchewan men’s basketball program. 

Previously, Khedri was head coach of the senior boys basketball team at Lillian Osborune high school in Edmonton from 2017 to 2024. He also served as a head coach with Good Hoops from 2017 to 2023 and Made Hoops in 2022.

A graduate of the University of Alberta, Khedri has a wealth of experience across multiple levels of the game and is passionate about helping youth develop their skills.

Apprentice Coach: Keaton Taylor

Keaton Taylor is head coach of the senior boys’ basketball team at his alma mater, William Aberhart, in Calgary. He was previously an assistant coach of the senior boys’ basketball team at Ross Sheppard in Edmonton, helping the team win the Division 2 Metro Athletics City Championship in 2022.

As a player at the University of Alberta-Augustana, Taylor won ACAC men’s basketball bronze medal in 2019.          

Taylor has previously worked with ABA in 2022 and 2023, serving as a tryout evaluator for the 17U men’s team. 

15U Girls Coaches

Head Coach: Sarah Besselink

A native of Kingston, Ont., Sarah Besselink served the last two years as head coach of the Ontario 15U women, guiding her home province’s team to back-to-back gold medals at the Canada Basketball National Championships in 2024 and 2025.  

The 2025-26 season is Besselink’s first as head coach of the University of Calgary women’s basketball program. She spent the previous five years with the women’s basketball team at her alma mater of the University of Ottawa. In 2024-25, she served as lead assistant coach of the team, helping the Gee-Gees capture the OUA championship.

As a player at Ottawa, Besselink was an Academic All-Canadian and two-time OUA Second Team All-Star.

Assistant Coach: Haley Fedick

Haley Fedick is back for a third year as assistant coach of the ABA 15U women, after helping the team capture back-to-back bronze medals at the Canada Basketball National Championships in 2024 and 20025. She also worked with the Alberta 17U women’s team as an apprentice coach in 2023. 

The 2025-26 season is Fedick’s first season as an assistant coach for the University of Alberta women’s basketball program. She previously coached with the Pandas Junior Basketball Club.

A native of Sherwood Park, Fedick represented Alberta at the Canada Basketball National Championships as a member of the 15U women’s team in 2016 and 2017, and the 17U women’s team in 2019. She played U Sports basketball at Toronto Metropolitan University.

Assistant Coach: Kyle Palmer

Kyle Palmer guided the Strathcona senior women’s basketball team to its first ever Metro Edmonton High School Athletics title in 2024-25.

In addition to his role as senior women’s hoops head coach, Palmer is also co-department head of Physical Education and Athletics at Strathcona. He has spent nearly 15 years coaching high school hoops around the province and currently serves as girls basketball commissioner for School Sport Alberta.

Palmer’s history with ABA traces back to 2013, when he worked as an apprentice coach for the inaugural Alberta men’s 14U team. 

17U Girls Coaches

Head Coach: Megan Wickstrom

Megan Wickstrom returns for a third year as head coach of the ABA 17U women, after leading the team to gold at the 2025 Canada Summer Games and bronze at the 2024 Canada Basketball National Championships.

Wickstrom served as head women’s basketball coach at the University of Alberta-Augustana from 2022 to 2024, before taking on her current role as associate head coach of women’s basketball at her alma mater, the University of Alberta. 

Wickstrom’s extensive experience with ABA also includes assistant coaching roles with the women’s 17U team at the 2023 National Championships and the women’s 15U team at the 2015 National Championships. During her playing career, the Sherwood Park product was a member of Alberta’s 17U women’s team in 2007 and 2008.

Assistant Coach: Marissa Lindquist

After helping guide Alberta to women’s hoops gold at the 2025 Canada Summer Game, Marissa Lindquist is back for a second year as assistant coach of ABA’s 17U women team. 

Lindquist previously spent two seasons on staff with the ABA 15U women, serving as assistant coach and head coach in 2023 and 2024, respectively. In 2022, she won silver at the Canada Basketball National Championships as head coach of Nova Scotia’s 15U women’s team.

Originally from Saskatoon, Lindquist is currently head coach of the University of Alberta-Augustana women’s basketball team. Prior to her coaching career, she played for the women’s basketball team at Lakeland College in Vermillion and was a member of Saskatchewan’s 15U and 17U women’s basketball provincial teams.

Assistant Coach: Kiera Lyons

Kiera Lyons has served as head coach of the NAIT women’s basketball team since 2022. In 2024-25, she coached the Ooks to their best record in five years

Previously, Lyons served as an assistant coach with the Edmonton Stingers of the professional Canadian Elite Basketball League and worked as a player development college for Lakeland College.

As a player, Lyons was part of Alberta’s 15U women’s team and 17U women’s team at the Canada Basketball National Championships in 2006 and 2008, respectively. She went onto a tremendous U Sports career at the University of Saskatchewan, where she won a Canada West women’s basketball championship and served as captain of the Huskies women’s hoops team.

17U Boys Coaches

Head Coach: Jhony Verrone

Jhony Verrone takes over as head coach of the 17U ABA men, after working the last two years with ABA’s 15U men team. He served as an apprentice coach in 2024 and an assistant coach in 2025, helping the team win bronze at the Canada Basketball National Championships both years.

Verrone recently served as interim head coach of the women’s basketball program at his alma mater, the University of Calgary, during the 2024-25 season. He has also worked as an assistant coach with Calgary’s men’s basketball team. 

Originally from Montreal, Verrone played five seasons with Calgary’s men’s basketball team, capturing the U Sports championship in 2018 and twice winning the Canada West title. He was the 2017-18 Canada West Defensive Player of the Year.

Assistant Coach: Michael Shelast

Michael Shelast currently serves as the national associate head coach of Western Canada Prep Academy.

Shelast’s experience includes serving as head coach of Good Hoops for the Adidas Jr. 3SSB in 2025, as well as coaching at the Canada Basketball Easter camp in 2024.

An Edmonton native, Shelast played collegiately for the Lakeland men’s basketball team in the ACAC from 2017 to 2023, serving as team captain for the 2022-23 season.

Assistant Coach: Zane Sweeney

Zane Sweeney currently works at Legacy Athletics, where he serves as trainer, coach and technical director, and is an assistant coach for the ITD Panthers Basketball Club.

From 2014 to 2018, Sweeney served as an assistant coach for the Concordia University of Edmonton men’s basketball team. He has also coached with the CYDC Panthers Basketball Club.

Sweeney first worked with ABA as a spring team coach in 2015, and a summer camp instructor from 2015 to 2017.

Apprentice Coach: Brett Jakubec

Brett Jakubec is co-founder of Legacy Athletics, a multi-court sports facility in Edmonton. He is also co-founder of the ITD Panthers basketball club.

During his playing career at Concordia University of Edmonton, Jakubec was named an ACAC North Division First Team All-Star in 2016-17 and ACAC North Division Second Team All-Star in 2017-18. He served as team captain from 2016 to 2018, and ranks third for steals, fourth for assists, and fifth for games played all-time in Concordia men’s basketball program history 

Jakubec blends high-level playing experience with his education background to deliver structured, development-focused coaching.