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]

Logo of the CPL–U Sports Draft

Developmental contract

Drafted players will get an invitation to the team's preseason camp, with the opportunity to earn a developmental contract. The developmental 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.[2]

Signed players can remain with their CPL club until the end of the season in early November by extending their developmental contract. These players would be ineligible to participate in U Sports the same season as their contract but would regain eligibility the following year.[3]

Rules and procedure

Players are eligible to be drafted if they have one or more years of U Sports eligibility remaining and have declared for the draft.[4] 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.[5]

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.[6] 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.[7]

List of drafts
Draft Season Date Rds Picks City First selection School Team Ref
2018 2019 November 12, 2018 3 21 Vancouver, British Columbia Gabriel Bitar Carleton Cavalry FC [8]
2019 2020 November 11, 2019 2 14 Montreal, Quebec Cory Bent Cape Breton HFX Wanderers [9]
2021 2021 January 29, 2021 2 16 Held virtually Thomas Gardner British Columbia FC Edmonton [10]
2022 2022 January 20, 2022 2 16 Held virtually José Cunha Cape Breton Atlético Ottawa [11]
2023 2023 December 15, 2022 2 16 Held virtually Anthony White Toronto Vancouver FC [12]

References
  1. Dheenshaw, Cleve (October 17, 2018). "New Canadian Premier League to hold draft for university soccer players". Times Colonist. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  2. "CPL to partner with U Sports on sharing talent". Sportsnet. The Canadian Press. October 17, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  3. "2019 CPL-U Sports Draft announced, rules released". Canadian Premier League. October 30, 2019. Retrieved October 30, 2019.
  4. "2021 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: The full prospect list". Canadian Premier League. January 26, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
  5. "2021 CPL-U Sports Draft to take place on January 29". Canadian Premier League. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  6. "Canadian Premier League announces date for 2022 CPL-U SPORTS Draft". canpl.ca. January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  7. "CPL-U SPORTS Draft 101: Detailing the process of the CPL's inaugural university draft". canpl.ca. November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  8. 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.
  9. "HFX selects Cape Breton's Cory Bent 1st overall in CPL-U SPORTS Draft". Canadian Premier League. November 11, 2019. Retrieved November 11, 2019.
  10. "FC Edmonton take UBC's Thomas Gardner 1st overall in CPL-U SPORTS Draft". Canadian Premier League. January 29, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2021.
  11. "2022 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: View all 16 picks here". Canadian Premier League. January 20, 2022. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  12. "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.
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