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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.

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. 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.

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. 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.

U Sports contract

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. Players on U Sports contracts do not count toward their team's 23-man roster limit. Players can also sign fully professional CPL standard contracts and forego their remaining university eligibility.

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.

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
2019	2020	November 11, 2019	2	14	Montreal, Quebec	Cory Bent	Cape Breton	HFX Wanderers
2021	2021	January 29, 2021	2	16	Held virtually	Thomas Gardner	British Columbia	FC Edmonton
2022	2022	January 20, 2022	2	16	Held virtually	José Cunha	Cape Breton	Atlético Ottawa
2023	2023	December 15, 2022	2	16	Held virtually	Anthony White	Toronto	Vancouver FC
2024	2024	December 14, 2023	2	16	Held virtually	Owen Sheppard	Cape Breton	Valour FC
2025	2025	December 5, 2024	2	16	Held virtually	Jevontae Layne	Toronto Metropolitan University	Valour FC

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. "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.

• Canadian Premier League drafts
• U Sports soccer
• Association football drafts
• Annual sporting events in Canada
• Recurring sporting events established in 2018
• 2018 establishments in Canada