‘I can’t wait to get to work’
Wesmen’s Raimbault named new Sea Bears head coach
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$1 per week for 24 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Winnipeg Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*$1 will be added to your next bill. After your 4 weeks access is complete your rate will increase by $0.00 a X percent off the regular rate.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
The Winnipeg Sea Bears announced Thursday they are bidding farewell to the franchise’s first head coach and general manager Mike Taylor.
Taylor will be replaced by the Winnipeg Wesmen men’s basketball head coach Mike Raimbault.
Raimbault — who is set to take up the mantle as the franchise’s new head coach and general manager — is a familiar face for Sea Bears fans, as he served as an assistant coach under Taylor for the past three seasons.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
Mike Raimbault was announced as the Winnipeg Sea Bears new head coach and general manager on Thursday. Raimbault has spent three seasons with the team as an assistant coach.
“We made a strategic decision to build the next steps of our organization with a team leader who is in our market on a year round basis, and to join other teams in the league who are developing Canadians coaching at the pro level,” the team’s owner David Asper said Thursday.
“Mike Taylor did an amazing job for us but we feel we need some prairie dirt, Canadian shield and wheatfield soul in our DNA at this time.”
Raimbault grew up and played university basketball in Brandon. He led the Brandon University Bobcats as interim head coach to a 20-2 regular-season record in the Canada West conference during the 2007-08 season, capping the season off with a Canadian Interuniversity Sports silver medal.
He went on to win a Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association national championship as head coach of the University of Northern British Columbia Timberwolves in the 2009-10 season. He was also named B.C. colleges coach of the year and national coach of the year for the Timberwolves championship run.
Alongside his promotion with Winnipeg’s pro basketball club, Raimbault will continue as head coach of the University of Winnipeg men’s team — a position he has held since 2010.
In recent years, Raimbault has led the Wesmen to back-to-back Canada West Championship final appearances in 2022-23 and 2023-24, and a program-best 2024-25 regular-season record of 16-4.
“I’m honoured and excited to take on this new opportunity with the Winnipeg Sea Bears as the next step in my coaching career,” Raimbault said Thursday, “I have been fortunate to be in the Sea Bears organization for the past three seasons and I’m looking forward to leading this tremendous franchise into the future.
“I am where I am today because of the support of my family as well as many mentors and influences in the basketball community. I am thankful to everyone who has played a part in my coaching journey. I owe a debt of gratitude to Mike Taylor for bringing me on his staff three years ago and I would not be able to fulfill this role without the unwavering support of the Wesmen Athletics family and our student-athletes.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
The Sea Bears’ inaugural head coach Mike Taylor spent three years with the club, leading the team to it’s first post-season appearance in 2023.
“I can’t wait to get to work,” Raimbault added.
The Sea Bears extended their gratitude to Taylor on Thursday for his dedication and leadership throughout the team’s first three seasons.
In the Sea Bears inaugural season, Taylor guided Winnipeg to its first post-season appearance. Finishing second overall in the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Western Conference in 2023, the Sea Bears hosted the Edmonton Stingers in the Western play-in game.
The Sea Bears’ most recent playoff appearance was last Friday, playing in the Western Conference final against the Calgary Surge, earning a bye to the post-season as host of the 2025 CEBL Championship Weekend.