Mission’s Teresa (Gabriele) Kleindienst will be inducted into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame this summer.
Canada Basketball announced the 2026 class on Thursday (July 2) in a news release. Kleindienst will be recognized alongside nine others at a live induction ceremony in New Brunswick in August.
The Heritage Park Secondary alumna boasts a long list of accomplishments from her basketball career.
“Through her sustained excellence, international achievements, and unwavering commitment to representing Canada, Teresa Kleindienst Gabriele helped elevate the profile of Canadian women’s basketball and inspired a generation of athletes who followed in her footsteps. Her contributions to the game have left a lasting legacy and make her a deserving inductee into the Canada Basketball Hall of Fame,” Canada Basketball said in the release.
After graduating from Heritage Park, Kleindienst played for Simon Fraser University and emerged as one of the top collegiate players in North America.
Kleindienst helped lead SFU’s success in in the late 1990s and early 2000s in both NAIA and CIS play, leading SFU to three national championship games.
SFU lost NAIA national championship games in 1999 and 2000 before Kleindienst led the program to its first CIS national championship in 2002.
She earned NAIA All-America honours in 1999 and 2000, Most Valuable Player of the 2000 NAIA National Championship Tournament, Sport BC University Athlete of the Year in 2000, and Canada West Female Athlete of the Year in 2002.
Kleindienst also represented Canada for over a decade on the international stage. For 13 years, she was a mainstay in the national team lineup and competed at the Olympic Games in 2000 and 2012.
“Her leadership, defensive intensity, and commitment to team success made her a trusted presence and a key contributor throughout her national team tenure,” Canada Basketball said in the release.
“A dynamic guard known for her leadership, competitiveness, and versatility, she played a pivotal role in the growth and success of the Canadian Women’s National Team during a transformative era for the program.”
The Mission product also played professionally in Europe from 2002 to 2004. She joins Miranda Ayim, Michael Meeks, Jamaal Magloire, Anna Stammberger, Dan Meagher, Peter “Doc” Ryan, Dave Smart, Janice Deakin, and Dr. Andrew Pipe in the 2026 class.
“The Class of 2026 represents the full breadth of what it takes to build a basketball nation,” Canada Basketball CEO Michael Bartlett said in a news release. “Athletes who competed on the world’s biggest stages, coaches who build-lasting programs, officials as on-court stewards, and builders who gave the game its foundation.”