At a young age, Ella Castres was introduced to basketball by competing against her brother — four years her senior — and the boys in the open gym.
"So, all the guys were bigger than me," Castres said, "but that didn't really stop me at all."
Castres, a provincial team combo guard and a leader on the Maples Marauders varsity girls, has committed to Alyssa Cox and the Winnipeg Wesmen as the latest member of the 2026 recruiting class.
Castres is no stranger to taking on challenges in her development as a basketball player. From those early years against the boys to playing on her first club team with girls as much as four years older than her to suiting up for Manitoba at last summer's Canada Games, Castres hasn't shied away from taking on a tough check.
"When I was four, I went to one of my brother's basketball practices and automatically I just loved it," she said. "I would say at the age of eight I started playing with the boys' (club) team and then eventually we made a girls team, which was four years older than me. So, I was still playing up. And ever since I've been playing up, my whole life."
Castres, who played Junior Wesmen under former UW star Robyn Belanger, has played in the Winnipeg Spirt, Attack, Alliance and Evolve club systems and, last year, played along side Wesmen guard
Avneet Kainth at Maples.
In addition to Boulanger and Kainth, Castres is also well familiar with freshmen
Jennifer Edwards and
Eliana Stark, something that will make her landing at the university level that much smoother.
"I feel more welcomed and I'm really comfortable with them already, so it's gonna feel like another day just going into the gym," she said.
Castres found her love of basketball at an early age and her journey has led her to the university she always hoped would come calling when the time to commit came along.
For the first year we were trying (Jr. Wesmen) out and I was like, I wanna go to the Wesmen," she said. "It's my number one place where I want to go.
"I would even say last year I was like, I know I'm going to go here, but I'm still gonna be open to options. I was open to all the options, but I just knew the Wesmen is my first choice."
In Castres, Coach Cox believes she's landed a talented all-round player who can make an impact in a variety of ways.
"Ella's high basketball IQ and offensive flare will bring an immediate impact to our team on the court," Cox said. "She has a wealth of high-level playing experience and we are excited to help her take her game to the next level. Ella rounds out an exceptional recruiting class for us and I'm really excited to see how this group grows together and impacts the culture of our program."
For her part, Castres appreciated Cox's efforts on the recruiting trail, having been a target of the Wesmen coach long before her senior year of high school.
"I love her. She made a connection really early in my high school career, so I've known her for forever, I feel like. She always comes to my games whenever she can. She does really put in an effort, and that's what I appreciate the most of her."
