CPL–U Sports Draft

Canadian soccer draft of university athletes

Logo of the CPL–U Sports Draft

The CPL–U Sports Draft (French: Repêchage de la PLC–U Sports) is an annual event in which Canadian Premier League clubs select players from U Sports, Canada's governing body for university sports. The draft allows student-athletes to play professional soccer that year without affecting their university eligibility.[1]

## Rules and procedure

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Players are eligible to be drafted if they have one or more years of U Sports eligibility remaining and have declared for the draft.[2] Players who signed development contracts the previous year can be retained by their CPL clubs as long as they have U Sports eligibility remaining. Previously drafted players who do not sign and remain draft-eligible can re-enter the draft in subsequent years.[3]

The previous season's league standings, including playoffs and final standings, determine the draft order. The draft previously employed a "snake draft" format with the selection order reversing after each round, however this was discontinued after the 2021 draft.[4] Clubs have a window of time in which they must submit their pick, and failure to do so results in a pass. There is a break between each round, as well as one timeout per club.[5]

## U Sports contract

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Drafted players will get an invitation to the team's preseason camp, with the opportunity to earn a U Sports contract. The U Sports contract allows players to be paid to play in the CPL in the spring and summer, before returning to their university team before August 15 for the U Sports men's soccer season.[6] Players on U Sports contracts do not count toward their team's 23-man roster limit.[7] Players can also sign fully professional CPL standard contracts and forego their remaining university eligibility.[8]

Signed players can remain with their CPL club until the end of the season in early November by extending their U Sports contract. These players would be ineligible to participate in U Sports the same season as their contract but would regain eligibility the following year.[9]

## List of drafts

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Draft  | Season  | Date  | Rds | Picks | City  | First selection | School | Team | Ref

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2018 | 2019 | November 12, 2018  | 3  | 21  | Vancouver, British Columbia |  Gabriel Bitar | Carleton | Cavalry FC | [10]
2019 | 2020 | November 11, 2019  | 2  | 14  | Montreal, Quebec |  Cory Bent | Cape Breton | HFX Wanderers | [11]
2021 | 2021 | January 29, 2021  | 2  | 16  | Held virtually |  Thomas Gardner | British Columbia | FC Edmonton | [12]
2022 | 2022 | January 20, 2022  | 2  | 16  | Held virtually |  José Cunha | Cape Breton | Atlético Ottawa | [13]
2023 | 2023 | December 15, 2022  | 2  | 16  | Held virtually |  Anthony White | Toronto | Vancouver FC | [14]
2024 | 2024 | December 14, 2023  | 2  | 16  | Held virtually |  Owen Sheppard | Cape Breton | Valour FC | [15]
2025 | 2025 | December 5, 2024  | 2  | 16  | Held virtually |  Jevontae Layne | Toronto Metropolitan University | Valour FC | [16]

## References

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1. ^ Dheenshaw, Cleve (October 17, 2018). "New Canadian Premier League to hold draft for university soccer players". Times Colonist. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
2. ^ "2021 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: The full prospect list". Canadian Premier League. January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
3. ^ "2021 CPL-U Sports Draft to take place on January 29". Canadian Premier League. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
4. ^ "Canadian Premier League announces date for 2022 CPL-U SPORTS Draft". canpl.ca. January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
5. ^ "CPL-U SPORTS Draft 101: Detailing the process of the CPL's inaugural university draft". canpl.ca. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
6. ^ "CPL to partner with U Sports on sharing talent". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. October 17, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
7. ^ Jacques, John (13 March 2024). "Canadian Premier League Updates Roster Rules For 2024". Northern Tribune. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
8. ^ Tierney, Mitchell (March 22, 2023). "'There was no doubt': Vancouver FC sign CPL-U SPORTS Draft first overall pick Anthony White". Canadian Premier League.
9. ^ "2019 CPL-U Sports Draft announced, rules released". Canadian Premier League. October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
10. ^ Bedakian, Armen (November 12, 2018). "Draft order revealed: Cavalry FC gets 1st pick in inaugural CPL-U SPORTS Draft". canpl.ca. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
11. ^ "HFX selects Cape Breton's Cory Bent 1st overall in CPL-U SPORTS Draft". Canadian Premier League. November 11, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
12. ^ "FC Edmonton take UBC's Thomas Gardner 1st overall in CPL-U SPORTS Draft". Canadian Premier League. January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
13. ^ "2022 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: View all 16 picks here". Canadian Premier League. January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
14. ^ "Canadian Premier League teams add young talent to rosters via U Sports draft". CBC Sports. The Canadian Press. December 15, 2022. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
15. ^ "2024 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: Team-by-team breakdown of all 16 picks". Canadian Premier League. December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
16. ^ "2025 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: Team-by-team breakdown of all 16 picks". Canadian Premier League. December 5, 2024. Retrieved December 5, 2024.

* v
* t
* e

CPL–U Sports Draft

Edition|

* 2018
* 2019
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

* v
* t
* e

Canadian Premier League

* Canadian Soccer Association
* Stadiums
* U Sports Draft
* Playoffs
* Finals
* Foreign players
* Records

Seasons|

* 2019
* Inaugural match
* Finals
* 2020
* Final
* 2021
* Final
* 2022
* Final
* 2023
* Final
* 2024
* Final

Clubs|

| 2024|

Atlético Ottawa
Cavalry FC
Forge FC
HFX Wanderers FC
Pacific FC
Valour FC
Vancouver FC
York United FC

|

Former|

FC Edmonton

Awards|

Team
CPL Shield
North Star Cup
Individual
CPL Awards

Golden Boot
Player of the Year
Coach of the Year

Rivalries|

905 Derby (Forge–York United)
Cavalry–Forge
Pacific–Vancouver
Former
Cavalry–Edmonton

Key personnel|

Commissioner
Mark Noonan
VP, soccer operations
James Easton

Associated competitions|

* Canadian Championship
* CONCACAF Champions Cup
* results
* League1 Canada
* Alberta
* British Columbia
* Ontario
* Quebec

* Category
* Soccer portal
* Multimedia

* v
* t
* e

U Sports soccer

AUS|

* Acadia Axemen and Axewomen (M/W)
* CBU Capers (M/W)
* Dalhousie Tigers (M/W)
* Memorial Sea-Hawks (M/W)
* Moncton Aigles Bleus and Aigles Bleues (M/W)
* Mount Allison Mounties (M/W)
* UNB Reds (M/W)
* UPEI Panthers (M/W)
* Saint Mary's Huskies (M/W)
* St. Francis Xavier X-Men and X-Women (M/W)

Canada West|

| Pacific|

* Calgary Dinos (W)
* UBC Thunderbirds (M/W)
* UBC Okanagan Heat (M/W)
* UFV Cascades (M/W)
* UNBC Timberwolves (M/W)
* Thompson Rivers WolfPack (M/W)
* Trinity Western Spartans (M/W)
* Victoria Vikes (M/W)

|

Prairie|

* Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas (M/W)
* Calgary Dinos (M)
* Lethbridge Pronghorns (M/W)
* MacEwan Griffins (M/W)
* Manitoba Bisons (W)
* Mount Royal Cougars (M/W)
* Regina Cougars (W)
* Saskatchewan Huskies (M/W)
* Winnipeg Wesmen (W)

OUA|

| West|

* Algoma Thunderbirds (M/W)
* Brock Badgers (M/W)
* Guelph Gryphons (M/W)
* McMaster Marauders (M/W)
* Waterloo Warriors (M/W)
* Western Mustangs (M/W)
* Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks (M/W)
* Windsor Lancers (M/W)
* York Lions (M/W)

|

East|

* Carleton Ravens (M/W)
* Laurentian Voyageurs (M/W)
* Nipissing Lakers (M/W)
* Ontario Tech Ridgebacks (M/W)
* Ottawa Gee-Gees (W)
* Queen's Gaels (M/W)
* RMC Paladins (M/W)
* TMU Bold (M/W)
* Toronto Varsity Blues (Men's/W)
* Trent Excalibur (M/W)

RSEQ|

* Bishop's Gaiters (W)
* Concordia Stingers (M/W)
* Laval Rouge et Or (M/W)
* McGill Redbirds and Martlets (Men's/W)
* Montreal Carabins (M/W)
* Sherbrooke Vert et Or (M/W)
* UQAM Citadins (M/W)
* UQTR Patriotes (M/W)

Main|

* U Sports
* U Sports men's soccer
* U Sports women's soccer

Championships|

* U Sports men's soccer championship
* 1980
* 1982
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025
* U Sports women's soccer championship

Awards|

* Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy (men's)
* Soccer championship MVP (men's)
* Soccer championship MVP (women's)
* Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards (U Sports)

Other|

* CPL–U Sports Draft

* v
* t
* e

First overall CPL draft picks

* 2018: Bitar
* 2019: Bent
* 2021: Gardner
* 2022: Cunha
* 2023: White
* 2024: Sheppard
* 2025: Layne

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