The Scarborough native is on the rise as the next athlete to represent the borough on the international stage.
For many young athletes, it is a lifelong dream to make it to the next level, whether it is playing Division 1 basketball (D1) in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) or suiting up to represent Canada on the international stage.
For Scarborough, Ont., native Jordan Charles, he is turning those dreams into reality.
Charles is one of the recent NCAA D1 commits to come out of Canada, suiting up for the University of California, Santa Barbara Gauchos men’s basketball team for the 2026-2027 season.
Like many other Scarborough youth, Charles spent a great chunk of his time testing his skills by competing against locals playing pickup basketball at the Kennedy Commons LA Fitness.
What may disguise itself as a local gym lies a serious and surprisingly competitive environment. As you near the gym, you hear the thunderous echo of basketballs bouncing and the squeaks of feet bolting up and down the hardwood.
Jordan Charles joins the University of California, Santa Barbara Gauchos men’s NCAA D1 basketball team for the 2026-2027 season
When you get closer to the court, you see people lined up against the walls, as if they were watching the NBA finals at Scotiabank Arena, waiting for the next team to lose so they can finally take to the court and play.
“It’s always competitive, man, as soon as I walk in the gym, I can feel the different energy,” said Charles.
Having the confidence to compete is something that Charles’ own mother attributes to his Scarborough roots, stating to her son that “you could take Jordan out of Scarborough but you can’t take the Scarborough out of Jordan.”
Charles points to fellow Scarborough hoopers like Long Island University guard Vasean Allette as an example of the “swagger” Scarborough individuals carry themselves with.
“I feel a lot of Scarborough people in general have a lot of confidence and have their own swag to them,” said Charles, in an interview with MPulse Scarborough.
That charisma on the court is exactly what has propelled Charles to the many feats of his young professional career.
From playing in Switzerland for the 2025 FIBA World Cup, representing the U19 Canada men’s national basketball team, where he averaged 13 points and 5 assists with a standout performance against Slovenia, erupting for 27 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists, to committing to a D1 university, Charles is embodying Scarborough on an international stage.
With only 235 of approximately 5,800 D1 basketball players being Canadian, the odds of making it to even the college level are not in favour, never mind for athletes in Scarborough but for Canadian basketball players as a whole.
Despite the odds, Charles believes the key to making it is ensuring that you stay true and trust in that Scarborough suave.
“Just trust the process,” he said.
Charles grew up watching players like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray and Scarborough’s own Leonard Miller – individuals who paved the way for young stars like himself to take to the court to represent their country.
Like the many players before him, Charles now has the privilege to be that role model for the upcoming generation of Scarborough basketball stars.
“You are not just playing for the name on the front. You are playing for the name on the back, too,” said Charles. “You have got to perform, you got to play your best because it is for the whole country.”
