Emma Elliott may have been raised on hockey, but she found her love in basketball.
And the Winnipeg Wesmen are glad she did.
Elliott, a 5-foot-9 guard from College Jeanne-Sauve and one of the top graduating players in the province, has committed to Alyssa Cox’s 2026 Wesmen women’s basketball recruiting class, joining Ava Shaw, Emma Yard and Ella Castres among the players who have pledged commitment to the University of Winnipeg for next season.
Like many Canadian youth, Elliott started in hockey. But it was not long before she found basketball, and discovered she was pretty good at it.
“I really didn’t start basketball until end of grade seven or even eight,” she said.
“That was probably the reason I stayed with basketball. I found I was pretty good at it. So then I just kept going with it, and then grade nine, that’s when I really wanted to make it my sport and try to go further in it.”
Elliott has accomplished plenty in a short period of time. She has experience in the Basketball Manitoba provincial program, having played on the 15U squad and most recently the 17U team that competed at the 2025 Canada Summer Games. At that event, she averaged over 10 points per game, including a tournament-high 17 points in a pool play game against Saskatchewan.
In Grade 10, she was named a recipient of the Sport Manitoba Women to Watch grant and later earned tournament all-star honours while helping the College Jeanne-Sauve Olympiens reach the Final Four at the AAAA junior varsity provincial championship.
Last season, as a Grade 11 student, Elliott was ranked number 10 in the Winnipeg Free Press annual coaches poll of the top players in the province, a list that also included three current Wesmen.
Elliott said she is excited to join a young Wesmen roster that includes players she already knows well, along with a recruiting class rich in local talent.
“I think everything kind of just lined up,” she said. “Play-wise, they play very fast and in transition, which is exactly how I like to play. Alyssa has been great and made the process very easy. The team culture is really strong. We have a pretty young group and a very strong recruiting class coming in, and that definitely helped the decision.”
Elliott noted that Cox was the first coach to reach out and begin the recruiting process, and that the fourth-year head coach made her a focal point of the class.
“Emma is a smart, hard-working student-athlete who will be a great addition to our team and culture,” said Cox. “She brings a high level of focus and commitment to everything she does on and off the court. Offensively, she is very versatile, always moving and cutting with purpose to finish plays around the rim. Defensively, she is a reliable on- and off-ball defender who anticipates well and rebounds. She is the type of player who understands how to impact the game in multiple ways.”
Uni #
11
Team
17U Female
Roster Type
Roster Player
Position
Guard
First Name
Emma
Last Name
Elliott
Age
17
City/Town
Winnipeg
Present Grade
Grade 11
Years in Basketball
6 years
School Attending This Fall
College Jeanne Sauve
Basketball Club Name
Evolve
Summer Goals
Become a better ball handler
Basketball Aspirations
To play at the university level
Fondest Memory in Basketball
Nationals in Newfoundland
Biggest Basketball Influence
Paige Bueckers
Favourite Player & Team
Paige Bueckers; Dallas wings
After High School
Go to university
When Basketball Career is Over
Become a dentist