‍TORONTO (Apr. 17, 2025) — Canada Basketball announced on Thursday, that Ramón Díaz has been named head coach of Canada’s U19 Men’s National Team for the upcoming FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup 2025.

“I’m honoured to return as head coach of this group and continue the journey we started together last summer,” said Díaz. 

“Qualifying for the FIBA U19 World Cup was a massive achievement, and now the focus shifts to preparing this team to compete at the highest level. We have a strong core, a great staff, and an opportunity to represent Canada on the world stage. It all begins with the Easter assessment camp, and I’m excited to get back to work.”

After making his Canada Basketball coaching debut this past summer where he won bronze at the FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup 2024, Diaz will return to his role as a Canada Basketball head coach — this time at the World Cup this summer.

Díaz is the head coach of the Mexico City Capitanes, a role he’s held for the past six seasons since the club's inception in 2017. The Capitanes went 16-18 this season, narrowly missing the NBA G-League playoffs. In his first two seasons with the organization, and before Mexico City joined the G-League, the Capitanes made it to the Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP) finals twice in Mexico. Díaz began his coaching career in the 2010-11 season with Ciudad de Guadix in Spain's Liga Española de Baloncesto Aficionado. Díaz also has national coaching experience as an assistant coach with Mexico’s Men’s National Team, including helping to lead the team back to the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup in 2014 for the first time in 40 years.

Nathan Grant, Charles Hantoumakos, and Kyle Landry will reprise their roles as assistant coaches on Diaz’s staff this summer.

Grant will spend his summer with Canada Basketball for the fourth-straight year, having served as an assistant coach with the national team since 2022, when he made his debut at the FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup. He has since served as an assistant coach at both the FIBA Men’s U19 Basketball World Cup 2023 and the FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup 2024. Grant is coming off his sixth season as head coach of the Laval Rouge et Or, and is only one year removed from leading the Rouge et Or to its first national championship in program history. Grant guided the No. 8 seed to three-consecutive upset victories, stunning the country as hosts en route to a magical U SPORTS National Championship. 

Prior to being hired at Laval, Grant spent two seasons as an assistant coach with the Concordia Stingers, in addition to work as a coach with Basketball Quebec where he led the province to a Canada Basketball 17U National Championship silver medal in 2018 and a Canada Summer Games bronze medal in 2017. Grant is both NCCP Train to Compete and Learn to Train certified, as well as Train to Train certified.

Likewise to Grant, Hantoumakos is no stranger to coaching for Canada. He has been a part of the Men’s High Performance program as a coach for four of the last five years, after initially serving as an assistant coach at the FIBA U16 Men’s AmeriCup 2021. Hantoumakos is the head coach of the Fort Erie International Academy, a role he has held since 2021-22. In his time with the program, he has led Fort Erie to the Grind Session Championship game this year and captured the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association (OSBA) championship in 2022. Originally from Tottenham, Ont., Hantoumakos has also been involved with Canada Basketball as a team manager for the FIBA U16 Men’s AmeriCup 2019.  Hantoumakos has completed his NCCP Learn to Train and Train to Train certifications.

A former player on the Canadian Senior Men’s and the 3x3 National Teams and professionally overseas, Landry’s long playing career transitioned to coaching in 2021, when he was promoted to lead assistant coach with the Calgary Dinos. Landry helped guide Calgary to a 16-4 record and a Canada West Championship this season, before claiming a silver medal at the U SPORTS Final 8 in Victoria. In addition to his work with the Dinos, he spent this past Canadian Elite Basketball League season as an assistant coach with the Calgary Surge. Landry made his Canada Basketball coaching debut last year at the FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup 2024, where he helped Canada win bronze. 

The FIBA U19 Men’s Basketball World Cup 2025 will run June 28 to July 6, 2025 in Lausanne, Switzerland. After a bronze medal at the FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup 2024, Canada will share Group B with China, Slovenia and Germany.

 Canada is currently ranked 10th overall in the FIBA boy’s age-group rankings, presented by Nike, following the conclusion of the FIBA 2024 Youth Events.