| 2021 CPL–U Sports Draft | |
| Sport: | Soccer |
| Date: | January 29, 2021 |
| Time: | 3:00 PM ET |
| Network: | OneSoccer, Twitter, YouTube |
| League: | Canadian Premier League |
| Teams: | 8 |
| First: | Thomas Gardner, FC Edmonton |
| Overall: | 16 |
| Rounds: | 2 |
| Prev: | 2019 |
| Next: | 2022 |
The 2021 CPL–U Sports Draft was the third annual CPL–U Sports Draft. Eight Canadian Premier League (CPL) teams selected 16 eligible U Sports athletes in total when the draft was held on January 29, 2021.[1] [2]
Each CPL team made two selection in the U Sports Draft. Players could be selected if they had years of U Sports eligibility remaining and had declared for the draft. In 2021, a total of 48 athletes declared for the draft.[3]
The draft used a snake format with the order reversing directions between the two rounds. The selection order in the first round is the reverse of the previous season's standings.[4]
| Denotes player who has signed a professional contract for the 2021 season | ||
| ^ | Denotes player who has signed a developmental contract for the 2021 season |
| Pick # | CPL team | Player | Position | Nationality | University | Last team/academy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thomas Gardner^ | MF | TSS Rovers (USL2) | ||||
| 2 | Cristopher Malekos | DF | Ottawa South United (PLSQ) | ||||
| 3 | GK | [5] | CS Fabrose (PLSQ) | ||||
| 4 | Christopher Campoli | MF | Woodbridge Strikers (L1O) | ||||
| 5 | Chris Lee^ | DF | Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy | ||||
| 6 | Victor Loturi^ | MF | Cavalry FC (CPL) | ||||
| 7 | Stefan Karajovanovic | FW | Ottawa South United (PLSQ) | ||||
| 8 | Garven-Michée Metusala | DF | AS Blainville (PLSQ) |
| Pick # | CPL team | Player | Position | Nationality | University | Last team/academy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | DF |  G.D. Estoril Praia B | |||||
| 10 | Kareem Sow^ | DF | Montreal Impact Academy | ||||
| 11 | Ethan Keen | DF | Calgary Foothills (USL2) | ||||
| 12 | Victory Shumbusho | FW | [6] | Victoria Highlanders (USL2) | |||
| 13 | Danial Rafisamii | MF | Toronto Skillz FC (L1O) | ||||
| 14 | Tony Mikhael^ | DF | [7] | Ottawa South United (L1O) | |||
| 15 | Reggie Laryea | DF | Sigma FC (L1O) | ||||
| 16 | DF | Calgary Foothills (USL2) |
The following players signed development contracts with their respective CPL teams in 2020 and had U Sports eligibility remaining. Their CPL clubs chose to retain their rights for another year, exempting them from the draft.
| Drafted | CPL team | Player | Position | Nationality | University | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 (7th) | FW | UQTR | ||||
| 2019 (14th) | RB | Trinity Western |
| Rank | Country | Selections |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | |
| 2 | 1 | |
| 1 | ||
| 1 | ||
| 1 |
| Rank | Province | Selections |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5[8] | |
| 2 | 4[9] | |
| 3 | 3 | |
| 3[10] |
| Rank | University | Selections |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | British Columbia | 4 |
| 2 | Carleton | 3 |
| 3 | Montréal | 2 |
| Ontario Tech | ||
| Mount Royal | ||
| 6 | Concordia | 1 |
| Cape Breton | ||
| York |