| 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft | |
| Sport: | Soccer |
| Date: | December 15, 2022 |
| Time: | 3:00 PM ET |
| Network: | YouTube |
| League: | Canadian Premier League |
| Teams: | 8 |
| First: | Anthony White, Vancouver FC |
| Overall: | 16 |
| Rounds: | 2 |
| Prev: | 2022 |
| Next: | 2024 |
The 2023 CPL–U Sports Draft was the fifth 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 developmental contracts for the 2023 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 9, 2022.[1] [2] On December 12, the CPL released the list of 199 athletes who declared for the draft.[3] Players who were selected can sign a full professional contract or a developmental contract, which allows them to return to university for the following season, without losing their eligibility.[4]
Teams were able to retain the rights to previously drafted players who had signed developmental contracts. Players who had their rights retained and did not enter the draft were: Kareem Sow (HFX Wanderers FC), Jacob Carlos (Valour FC), Markus Kaiser (Cavalry FC), and Luca Ricci (Pacific FC).[3]
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. Expansion club Vancouver FC made the first and second picks of the draft but did not make a selection in the second round.[5]
| Denotes player who has signed a professional contract for the 2023 season | ||
| ^ | Denotes player who has signed a developmental contract for the 2023 season |
The following players were selected:[6]
| Pick # | CPL team | Player | Position | Nationality | University | Last team/academy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DF | TSS Rovers FC (L1BC) | |||||
| 2 | Vancouver FC | FW | ProStars FC (L1O) | ||||
| 3 | DF | Scrosoppi FC (L1O) | |||||
| 4 | MF | ProStars FC (L1O) | |||||
| 5 | DF | Celtix du Haut-Richelieu (PLSQ) | |||||
| 6 | DF | Whitecaps FC Academy (L1BC) | |||||
| 7 | DF | Cavalry FC U20 (AMSL) | |||||
| 8 | MF | Rivers FC (L1BC) | |||||
| 9 | MF | Hamilton United (L1O) |
| Pick # | CPL team | Player | Position | Nationality | University | Last team/academy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | HFX Wanderers FC | GK | ||||
| 11 | York United FC | MF | Simcoe County Rovers FC (L1O) | |||
| 12 | Valour FC | DF | CS Saint-Hubert (PLSQ) | |||
| 13 | Pacific FC | MF | Rivers FC (L1BC) | |||
| 14 | Cavalry FC | DF |  Podlasie Biała Podlaska | |||
| 15 | Atlético Ottawa | FW | West Ottawa SC (OPDL) | |||
| 16 | Forge FC | DF | Vaughan Azzurri (L1O) | |||
| Rank | Country | Selections | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | ||
| 2 | 1 | ||
| 3 | 1 |
| Rank | University | Selections |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | |
| 2 | ||
| 2 | ||
| 4 | 10 universities | 1 |