Men’s Soccer News

The Canadian Premier League announced the 16 draft picks from the 2021 CPL-U SPORTS draft during a live presentation held today. Sixteen players will be invited to CPL Clubs’ preseason camp this year.Since 2018, at the conclusion of the U SPORTS Men’s Soccer Championship, the Canadian Premier League holds a draft for eligible U SPORTS men’s soccer players who have registered and declared themselves ‘available’ to be selected through the League’s annual draft. This draft is open to any eligible U SPORTS underclassman that register for the draft. The CPL-U SPORTS Draft consisted of two rounds, eight picks in each round.

The player draft picks were announced in succession on January 29, 2021 at 3:00pm ET on CanPL.ca, @cplsoccer Twitter, OneSoccer and CBC digital.

1st Round

Pick CPL Club First Name Last Name School Pos. Hometown Elig. Program
1 FC Edmonton Thomas Gardner UBC M North Vancouver, B.C. 3 Arts
2 Atlético Ottawa Cristopher Malekos Carleton D Saint-Hyppolyte, Que. 4 Commerce
3 Valour FC Yuba-Rayane Yesli Montreal GK Tizi-Ouzou, Algeria 1 Kinesiology
4 York United FC Christopher Campoli Ontario Tech M Woodbridge, Ont. 2 Finance
5 Pacfic FC Chris Lee UBC D West Vancouver, B.C. 1 Kinesiology
6 Cavalry FC Victor Loturi Mount Royal M Calgary, Alta. 1 Open Studies
7 HFX Wanderers FC Stefan Karajovanovic Carleton F Gatineau, Que. 4 Criminology &
Criminal Justice
8 Forge FC Garven Metusala Concordia D Terrbonne, Que. 1 Economics

2nd Round

Pick CPL Club First Name Last Name School Pos. Hometown Elig. Program
9 Forge FC Jose da Cunha Cape Breton D Cascais, Portugal 1 Arts & Community Studies
10 HFX Wanderers FC Kareem Sow Montreal D Sherbrooke, Que. 3 Mechanical Engineering
11 Cavalry FC Ethan Keen Mount Royal D Calgary, Alta. 1 Business
12 Pacfic FC Victory Shumbusho UBC F Chilliwack, B.C. 4 Arts
13 York United FC Danial Rafisamii Ontario Tech M Toronto, Ont. 2 Liberal Studies
14 Valour FC Tony Mikhael Carleton D Ottawa, Ont. 3 Commerce
15 Atlético Ottawa Reggie Laryea York D Toronto, Ont. 4 Health Studies
16 FC Edmonton Jackson Farmer UBC D Edmonton, Alta. 4 Arts

* The order of the draft was based off of the Club’s regular season record over the course of the CPL’s 2020 season (Island Games) and was formatted in a “snake draft” order with FC Edmonton receiving the first-round selection.

This truly unique partnership between the Canadian Premier League and U SPORTS provides student-athletes with an opportunity to be signed to a CPL-U SPORTS Developmental Contract that allows a student-athlete with one to five years of U SPORTS eligibility remaining to sign with a CPL Club, while preserving their eligibility before returning to U SPORTS competition.

Read more to learn more about the 2021 CPL-U SPORTS Draft here.

More CPL-U SPORTS Draft Coverage

FC Edmonton take UBC’s Thomas Gardner 1st overall in CPL-U SPORTS Draft

Thomas Gardner: ‘Surreal’ to be picked 1st overall in CPL-U SPORTS Draft

2021 CPL-U SPORTS Draft by the numbers: Facts and figures from the draft

How the CPL-U SPORTS Draft has evolved: ‘Clubs can be creative’

CPL-U SPORTS Draft: How has each club fared in the past?