Surrey’s Eesher Singh Sarai to become first turbaned Canadian in NCAA Division I men’s basketball

Surrey’s Eesher Singh Sarai is set to become the first Canadian turbaned Sikh to play in an NCAA Division I men’s basketball program after signing with Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C.

The 20-year-old, six-foot-nine forward signed in May, three years after last playing for the Fleetwood Park Dragons. He said the milestone matters to him and his community, and that he hopes to challenge stereotypes about Sikh and South Asian athletes in basketball.

After graduating high school in 2023, Sarai played college basketball in Florida, Washington State and Iowa. He said he began seriously pursuing Division I basketball while in Grade 10 at Fleetwood Park, and trained on a backyard concrete court his family built during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sarai recently completed eight weeks of summer training with Winthrop’s men’s team. He plans to study business finance; Winthrop finished second in the Big South Conference last season.