Bobcats add size on perimeter in Jensen

The last Canada Topflight Academy West player to join the Brandon University Bobcats turned out to be special.

Roman Jensen hopes to start a trend.

The six-foot-five guard has committed to the Bobcats men’s basketball team for the 2026-27 season, following Canada West rookie of the year Munroop Gill to the Wheat City.

“I’m so thrilled. I’m super excited to become a Bobcat. I’ve heard only great things about the program and I know some guys on the team, so that’s going to be a blast,” Jensen said, adding that CTA coaches Adam Huffman and Lee Reckmann guided him to BU.

“Huff and Lee, they were definitely pointing me in the right direction because I wanted to go U Sports and they were like, ‘This team needs a player like you.’”

Bobcats head coach Gil Cheung has been trying to add size across the board, but especially on the perimeter, without sacrificing the breakneck pace he wants to play with.

Having graduated two massive pieces in Sultan Bhatti and Travis Hamberger, Cheung liked what he saw in Jensen’s shooting and willingness to rebound.

“He can shoot it. I just think he’ll be a strong first-year kid who will compete for some minutes,” said Bobcats head coach Gil Cheung.

“He’s got some size and ability to defend multiple positions and shoot the basketball on the wing.”

Jensen said he was in and out of basketball growing up, but made it his main sport in Grade 8 and didn’t look back.

Growing up in Chestermere, Alta., a city of about 28,000, he said he’s fortunate to have played high school ball for coach Dan Isbister for a few reasons.

“He wouldn’t let me play sloppy. He’d make me continue playing team ball, make me unselfish,” Jensen said. “If I was going for a record, he’d make me share the ball, play the game how it’s supposed to be played.”

Jensen’s most important lesson from Isbister came during one of his best individual games, having scored 43 points with a quarter to go. He knew the school record was 62, but with the game out of reach, Isbister sat him for the fourth and let him know it’s important for his teammates to shine, too.

Jensen still stood out enough to Huffman and Reckmann to spend his first year after Grade 12 with a strong prep team. He felt it was a solid way to transition to U Sports ball.

“It was such a higher level of competition and it made me see if I could truly play at the next level,” Jensen said. “Coach Huff and coach Lee, they coach you tremendously, and if you can’t handle that, you can’t handle the next level.”

Jensen is joining a BU team that went 8-12, taking the last Prairie Division playoff spot before falling to the Manitoba Bisons in the first round.

He’s hoping to end what’s now a 19-year national championship appearance drought in Brandon.

“My goal is to chase a chip (championship), make great relationships as well that can last forever, and be an awesome guy for people to remember,” he said.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com