FIBA logo on a team Canada jersey during FIBA AmeriCup qualification play in St. Catharines, Ont., Friday, February 23, 2024. Nathaniel Mitchell has been named as Canada's head coach for the upcoming November window of the FIBA Men’s AmeriCup 2025 qualifiers. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nick Iwanyshyn
TORONTO – Nathaniel Mitchell has been named as Canada’s head coach for the upcoming November window of the FIBA Men’s AmeriCup 2025 qualifiers.
Canada Basketball announced Wednesday that Mitchell will be at the helm for games in Saskatoon against the Dominican Republic on Nov. 21 and Mexico on Nov. 24.
Mitchell previously served as the senior men’s head coach at the FIBA Men’s AmeriCup 2022 in Brazil, where the team finished fourth.
The Toronto-born coach is currently the head coach of the Guangzhou Loong Lions in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Mitchell fills in for Jordi Fernandez, who is also in his first season as head coach of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets.
Canada is currently ranked fifth in the world. It opened qualifying with a pair of victories over Nicaragua in February.
“It’s an honour to return to the Canadian bench and lead our senior men’s national team later this month,” Mitchell said in a release. “As a team, we’re looking to build on our two wins from the first window in February and take another step towards qualifying for next summer’s FIBA Men’s AmeriCup.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.