Fourth-year Bisons point guard Mason Kraus is taking the next step in his basketball journey. Following a season where he earned Canada West First Team All-Star honours, setting career highs in points per game, made three pointers, rebounds and minutes played per game, Kraus has been selected by the Winnipeg Sea Bears in the second round of the 2025 Canadian Elite Basketball League (CEBL) Draft.

This is the fifth overall draft selection for Manitoba in the seven-year history of the event, following Simon Hildebrandt (2023, 2024), Rashawn Browne (2020) and Justus Alleyn (2019).

"Mason's goal, and our goal for Mason, has always been for him to become a professional athlete. His hard work is paying off, and we are excited to see him begin this next chapter after four years in our program," said Bisons head coach Kirby Schepp.

"I know this can help propel him into a great fifth season with the Bisons, and be a launching pad for into further professional opportunities."

Kraus hasn't missed a start for the Bisons dating back to his first season in 2021-22. He's made 83 career starts for the Herd during that time, with his 197 career regular season steals ranking first in school history (since the stat began being tracked in 1995-96), and ninth in Canada West history. Kraus' 5.02 assists per game also rank tenth in Canada West history (since 1986-87).

Manitoba has won 49 regular season games with Kraus leading the offence, including a school record 18 victories in 2022-23. This past season, Kraus ranked in the top five in a variety of Canada West stats, including steals (55, second), assists (106, second), made three pointers (56, second), minutes played per game (33, fifth) and points per game (18.4, fifth).