| 2024 CPL–U Sports Draft | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Sport | Soccer |
| Date | December 14, 2023 |
| Time | 1:00 PM ET |
| Network | YouTube |
| Overview | |
| 16 total selections in 2 rounds | |
| League | Canadian Premier League |
| Teams | 8 |
| First selection | Owen Sheppard, Valour FC |
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.
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]
| * | 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]
| Pick # | CPL team | Player | Position | Nationality | University | Last team/academy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Valour FC | Owen Sheppard | FW |  Canada |
Cape Breton | |
| 2 | Vancouver FC | Luke Norman | MF | Canada |
British Columbia | Whitecaps FC Academy (L1BC) |
| 3 | Atlético Ottawa | Luca Piccioli^ | MF | Canada |
Carleton | Montreal Impact Academy (U19) |
| 4 | York United FC | Christian Zeppieri^ | MF | Canada |
York | Vaughan Azzurri (L1O) |
| 5 | HFX Wanderers FC | Daniel Clarke^ | GK |  England |
Cape Breton | Woodbridge Strikers (L1O) |
| 6 | Pacific FC | Michael Maslanka | FW | Canada |
Toronto | |
| 7 | Cavalry FC | Caden Rogozinski^ | DF | Canada |
Mount Royal | Calgary Foothills FC (L1AB) |
| 8 | Forge FC | Mouhamed Ndiaye | MF | Canada |
UQTR |
| Pick # | CPL team | Player | Position | Nationality | University | Last team/academy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Valour FC | Gianfranco Facchineri^ | DF | Canada |
Windsor | Windsor City FC (L1O) |
| 10 | Cavalry FC (from Vancouver FC)[a] | Rodane Cato | MF | Canada |
Alberta | |
| 11 | Atlético Ottawa | Samuel LaPlante | DF | Canada |
UQTR | CS Saint-Hubert (L1QC) |
| 12 | York United FC | Jason Hartill^ | MF | Canada |
Cape Breton | Toronto FC Academy (MLS Next) |
| 13 | HFX Wanderers FC | Max Bodurtha | MF | Canada |
St. Francis Xavier | Whitecaps FC Academy (L1BC) |
| 14 | Pacific FC | Ibrahem Saadi | DF | Canada |
Western | |
| 15 | Vancouver FC (from Cavalry FC)[a] | Thomas Powell^ | MF | Canada |
Trinity Western | Unity FC (L1BC) |
| 16 | Forge FC | Amadou Kone^ | FW | Canada |
Carleton | Ottawa South United (L1QC) |
| Rank | Country | Selections |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Canada |
15 |
| 2 | England |
1 |
| Rank | University | Selections |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cape Breton University | 3 |
| 2 | Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières | 2 |
| Carleton University | 2 | |
| 4 | 9 universities | 1 |
