Kodiaks men’s basketball picks up NCAA Division 1 transfer

The Lethbridge Polytechnic Kodiaks men’s basketball team continues to rebuild its team with point guard Cole Lake. Lake is from Eagle, Idaho, transferring from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah.

Lake attended Kearns High School in Salt Lake City, Utah and graduated in 2019. He averaged 14.3 points, 6.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game, earned All-Region honours as a senior and was a member of the National Honor Society. 

He then played for the University of Montana Western, part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, for his first year of college. He played in 26 games and started two during the 2019-20 season before transferring to Weber State where he played for the past two seasons.

“I was drawn to the ACAC (Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference) because of its extra year of eligibility and the fast style of play,” says Lake. “I got in contact with Coach (Ryan) Heggie when I was in the transfer portal, and I liked the way he runs his program, and I have the opportunity to have a great impact at the point guard position.”

Lake is coming in with two years of eligibility and has enrolled in the Business Administration program at the college.

From watching film and talking with Lake, the Kodiaks men’s basketball head coach Ryan Heggie can tell that he’s a hard worker and puts a lot of time into his craft. Lake already plays the style Heggie coaches as Lake pushes pace, runs the offence half court and defends aggressively.

“I expect Cole to come in and make his mark early,” says Heggie. “With the departure of two ACAC all-stars in our backcourt, he knows we need this and it’s expected of him.” 

The Kodiaks team will look younger than last season and having players like Lake added to the roster will help with the growth of the team.

“I’m coming into this program with leadership, work ethic, winning mentality and a high-level skill set at the point guard position,” says Lake. “I’m looking forward to playing the game I love and winning games for the Kodiaks.”

Kodiaks coaches actively recruit high school athletes around Alberta and neighbouring provinces. If one of the Kodiaks coaches hasn’t spoken to you yet, don’t worry. Simply fill out the recruitment form (gokodiaks.ca/recruitment), and they would be pleased to learn more about you.