The Big Ticket 2019 Preview: Yale, Collingwood, Pitt Meadows, Steveston-London, and McMath

There are so many different teams who are coming to the Big Ticket, it's honestly amazing. Teams of all ages are about to test themselves to the limit right at the start, and that's what makes this tournament so great. Here are four more teams to watch out for starting on November 25th.

Yale - Senior Boys

It was an admitted rebuilding year last season for the Lions according to coach

Alicia Tessarolo. But now with a strong core of grade 12's and grade 11's who won the Junior Fraser Valley Championships last year, Yale should be a player in the Valley this season. Joseph Ho, Ekjoht Mann, Harman Bolla and Jaydan Bains were part of that championship junior team that should be fun to watch.

Collingwood - Senior Girls

Finishing with a 15-8 record, Collingwood is expected to go through a rebuilding year after losing seven graduating players. They're hoping to test themselves at the Big Ticket.

"Our grade 11 group had success in their younger years, but this will really challenge and push them," said their head coach Morgan Mclaughlin.

Highlights from last season included a narrow loss to Argyle at their Cavalier Classic tournament, and beating their big rival Mulgrave to advance to the Lower Mainland tournament. This group, however, is looking to make their own mark.

Steveston-London - Senior Boys

Longtime head coach Michael Stoneburgh is bullish on his team's chances heading into the 2020 season.

"In the 10 years I have coached at SLSS this might go down as one of the deepest teams in school history," he explained. "We lost in the 2016-17 3A provincial final and that team went eight deep on the bench. This team might go 10 night in and night out."

A preseason honourable mention, Steveston-London lost last year in the first round to GW Graham. They got there by beating big rivals and big favourites Richmond High at a packed Olympic Oval. Keep your eyes out for Jhonelle Vergara Dela-Cruz (pictured above) and Jalen Johal, they should be major players in 3A this season.

McMath - Junior Girls

McMath was a dominant team last year, finishing with a 31-4 overall record and won everything there was — the Richmond, District, and Provincial championships. An early competitive schedule in the Big Ticket will hopefully prepare them for the season.

Pitt Meadows - Senior Boys

A program with sky-high expectations, the Marauders are a team that will be a force to be reckoned with in 3A this upcoming season.

"Our expectations heading into the season are to be a highly competitive team – with the final goal of making the Provincial tournament for the third straight year" explained coach Brody Herman. "We expect to finish at the top of our league."

And they were a highly competitive team last year. They won the AAA Fraser Valley tournament by defeating Rick Hansen in the semi-final, and GW Graham in the championship game. Watch out for Fraser Valley MVP Iman Ostovari this year.

Written by: Nick Bondi