2024 CPL–U Sports Draft

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2024 CPL–U Sports Draft
General information
SportSoccer
DateDecember 14, 2023
Time1:00 PM ET
NetworkYouTube
Overview
16 total selections in 2 rounds
LeagueCanadian Premier League
Teams8
First selectionOwen Sheppard, Valour FC
← 2023
2025 →

The 2024 CPL–U Sports Draft was the sixth annual CPL–U Sports Draft. Canadian Premier League (CPL) teams selected 16 eligible U Sports soccer players to be invited to their respective preseason camps with the opportunity to earn development contracts for the 2024 Canadian Premier League season.

Format

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Players could be selected if they had one to four years of U Sports eligibility remaining, were in good academic standing, were planning to return to school the following year, and completed the CPL's draft declaration form by December 5, 2023.[1] On December 6, the CPL released the list of 203 athletes who declared for the draft.[2] Players who were selected can sign a full professional contract or a U Sports development contract, which allows them to return to university for the following season, without losing their eligibility.[3]

Teams were able to retain the rights to previously drafted players who had signed U Sports contracts. In total, seven players were retained by their CPL clubs.[2]

Each CPL team made two selections in the draft with selections made in the reverse order of the previous season's standings, including playoffs and final standings. Teams may trade selections; on draft day, Vancouver FC traded the 10th overall selection to Cavalry FC in exchange for the 15th overall selection and future considerations.[4] These future considerations eventually became Canadian winger Ben Fisk who transferred from Cavalry to Vancouver on January 9, 2024.[5]

Player selection

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* Denotes player who has signed a professional contract for the 2024 season
^ Denotes player who has signed a developmental contract for the 2024 season

The following players were selected:[6][7]

Round 1

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Pick # CPL team Player Position Nationality University Last team/academy
1 Valour FC Owen Sheppard FW Canada Canada Cape Breton
2 Vancouver FC Luke Norman MF Canada Canada British Columbia Whitecaps FC Academy (L1BC)
3 Atlético Ottawa Luca Piccioli^ MF Canada Canada Carleton Montreal Impact Academy (U19)
4 York United FC Christian Zeppieri^ MF Canada Canada York Vaughan Azzurri (L1O)
5 HFX Wanderers FC Daniel Clarke^ GK England England[a] Cape Breton Woodbridge Strikers (L1O)
6 Pacific FC Michael Maslanka FW Canada Canada Toronto
7 Cavalry FC Caden Rogozinski^ DF Canada Canada Mount Royal Calgary Foothills FC (L1AB)
8 Forge FC Mouhamed Ndiaye MF Canada Canada UQTR
  1. ^ Also holds Canadian citizenship

Round 2

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Pick # CPL team Player Position Nationality University Last team/academy
9 Valour FC Gianfranco Facchineri^ DF Canada Canada Windsor Windsor City FC (L1O)
10 Cavalry FC (from Vancouver FC)[a] Rodane Cato MF Canada Canada Alberta
11 Atlético Ottawa Samuel LaPlante DF Canada Canada UQTR CS Saint-Hubert (L1QC)
12 York United FC Jason Hartill^ MF Canada Canada Cape Breton Toronto FC Academy (MLS Next)
13 HFX Wanderers FC Max Bodurtha MF Canada Canada St. Francis Xavier Whitecaps FC Academy (L1BC)
14 Pacific FC Ibrahem Saadi DF Canada Canada Western
15 Vancouver FC (from Cavalry FC)[a] Thomas Powell^ MF Canada Canada Trinity Western Unity FC (L1BC)
16 Forge FC Amadou Kone^ FW Canada Canada Carleton Ottawa South United (L1QC)

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Vancouver FC's second round pick (10th overall) went to Cavalry FC as a result of a trade on December 14, 2023 in exchange for Cavalry's second round pick (15th overall) and future considerations (Ben Fisk).[4][5]

Selection statistics

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Draftees by nationality

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Rank Country Selections
1 Canada 15
2 England 1

Draftees by university

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Rank University Selections
1 Cape Breton University 3
2 Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières 2
Carleton University 2
4 9 universities 1

References

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  1. ^ "U Sports Draft FAQ". Canadian Premier League. Archived from the original on December 26, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  2. ^ a b "2024 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: Full Prospect List". Canadian Premier League. December 6, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
  3. ^ McNulty, Paul (August 4, 2022). "Four Seasons In, the CPL Talent Pipeline Is in Full Swing". 13th Man Sports.
  4. ^ a b "Cavalry FC, Vancouver FC trade second round picks in 2024 CPL-U SPORTS Draft". Canadian Premier League. December 14, 2023. Archived from the original on December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Vancouver FC acquire Ben Fisk from Cavalry FC". Canadian Premier League. January 9, 2024. Archived from the original on January 9, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024.
  6. ^ "2024 CPL-U SPORTS Draft: Team-by-team breakdown of all 16 picks". Canadian Premier League. December 14, 2023. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  7. ^ Jacques, John (December 14, 2023). "2024 CPL-U SPORTS Draft Roundup". Northern Tribune. Retrieved December 14, 2023.