Zach Edey was actually a baseball player. Basketball just happened to him. Now, Purdue has proven that they are not going to give up on their dream of bringing their first championship home. And how would they do it without their star player? The 2× National college player of the year in Matt Painter’s squad hails from Canada. But that’s not it. His family heritage is rich! Here’s all you need to know about Edey’s parents and family background.

Zach Edey and his first-generation Chinese-Canadian mother

Zach Edey was born in Toronto, Ontario. His mother, Julia, hails from a Chinese family and is a first-generation Chinese Canadian. The mechanical engineer standing at 6-ft-4 used to participate in multiple sports, including track running, baseball, and discus throw. She even has a city record for the throwing distance. But she was also always attracted to basketball. In fact, she opened up about trying out for Ontario Provincial when she was 17 years old.

However, when she realized that the oldest age group was 21 years in the team, she took her name back. She had another option for the junior national team. If she tried out for those, she would be playing against athletes under the age of 19 years. She eventually passed up on the opportunities and focused on running their family restaurant and her studies.

Much later, she retired from her mechanical engineering job and took up beekeeping as a hobby as Zach moved to the US. The two had a settlement that if Zach could get a DI scholarship, Julia would retire to focus on her son- something she still wished her parents would have done. Nevertheless, she shrugged the thought because basketball was not really a career to dream in her family.

But from the day Zach Edey moved into basketball, she has been his shadow. From going to all of his college games to attending all of his AAU matchups, Julia has carved a career for Zach in basketball. However, when we talk about his first sports ice hockey and baseball, his father has more to do with it.

Zach Edey’s baseball gene!

Edey’s father, Glen Edey, is a Canadian. While he always wanted to be a basketball player, he kept his distance from the sport initally. Instead, Glen focused on Zach playing baseball. The father is currently a baseball coach. So would it be surprising that he was Zach’s first coach? He was the first coach until Zach became a collegiate-level athlete.

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Nevertheless, he taught him how to play ice hockey, being a Canadian. The two also played baseball, and it was Zach’s first career plan. But being too tall for the sport, he had to switch to basketball, something Glen suggested. Certainly, he gave the right advice to his son as today he is one of the best players in college basketball.

But because his mother has a Chinese heritage and his father is White, Edey faced bullying over that and also his height- 7-foot-3. “Even just being Chinese in basketball. Being a tall Chinese person. You almost feel like you versus the world a little bit,” Zach explained in March 2023. “You can probably count on your fingers how many Asian people there are in our conference, so that’s something I take a lot of pride in. I’m proud that I can represent our culture.”

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