# 2021 CPL–U Sports Draft

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.

## Format

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.
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.

## Player selection

| $^*$ | Denotes player who has signed a professional contract for the 2021 season |
| $^^$ | Denotes player who has signed a developmental contract for the 2021 season |

### Round 1

| Pick # | CPL team | Player | Position | Nationality | University | Last team/academy |
| 1 | FC Edmonton | Thomas Gardner^ | MF | Canada | British Columbia | TSS Rovers (USL2) |
| 2 | Atlético Ottawa | Cristopher Malekos | DF | Canada | Carleton | Ottawa South United (PLSQ) |
| 3 | Valour FC | Yuba-Rayane Yesli | GK | Algeria | Montréal | CS Fabrose (PLSQ) |
| 4 | York United | Christopher Campoli | MF | Canada | Ontario Tech | Woodbridge Strikers (L1O) |
| 5 | Pacific FC | Chris Lee^ | DF | Canada | British Columbia | Vancouver Whitecaps FC Academy |
| 6 | Cavalry FC | Victor Loturi^ | MF | Canada | Mount Royal | Cavalry FC (CPL) |
| 7 | HFX Wanderers | Stefan Karajovanovic* | FW | Canada | Carleton | Ottawa South United (PLSQ) |
| 8 | Forge FC | Garven-Michée Metusala* | DF | Canada | Concordia | AS Blainville (PLSQ) |
* ↑ Qualifies as a domestic player

### Round 2

| Pick # | CPL team | Player | Position | Nationality | University | Last team/academy |
| 9 | Forge FC | José da Cunha | DF | Portugal | Cape Breton | G.D. Estoril Praia B |
| 10 | HFX Wanderers | Kareem Sow^ | DF | Canada | Montréal | Montreal Impact Academy |
| 11 | Cavalry FC | Ethan Keen | DF | Canada | Mount Royal | Calgary Foothills (USL2) |
| 12 | Pacific FC | Victory Shumbusho | FW | DR Congo | British Columbia | Victoria Highlanders (USL2) |
| 13 | York United | Danial Rafisamii | MF | Canada | Ontario Tech | Toronto Skillz FC (L1O) |
| 14 | Valour FC | Tony Mikhael^ | DF | Lebanon | Carleton | Ottawa South United (L1O) |
| 15 | Atlético Ottawa | Reggie Laryea | DF | Canada | York | Sigma FC (L1O) |
| 16 | FC Edmonton | Jackson Farmer | DF | Canada | British Columbia | Calgary Foothills (USL2) |

### Retained

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) | Forge FC | Gabriel Balbinotti | FW | Canada | UQTR |
| 2019 (14th) | HFX Wanderers | Jake Ruby | RB | Canada | Trinity Western |
* 1 2 Qualifies as a domestic player

## Selection statistics
### Draftees by nationality

| Rank | Country | Selections |
| 1 | Canada | 12 |
| 2 | Algeria | 1 |
| 2 | DR Congo | 1 |
| 2 | Lebanon | 1 |
| 2 | Portugal | 1 |

#### Canadian draftees by province

| Rank | Province | Selections |
| 1 | Ontario | 5 |
| 2 | Quebec | 4 |
| 3 | Alberta | 3 |
| 3 | British Columbia | 3 |
* ↑ Mikhail's hometown is in Ontario, but represents Lebanon internationally
* ↑ Yesli was born in Algeria, but resides in Quebec since his youth
* ↑ Shumbusho was born in Congo, but resides in British Columbia since his youth

### Draftees by university

| Rank | University | Selections |
| 1 | British Columbia | 4 |
| 2 | Carleton | 3 |
| 3 | Montréal | 2 |
| 3 | Ontario Tech | 2 |
| 3 | Mount Royal | 2 |
| 6 | Concordia | 1 |
| 6 | Cape Breton | 1 |
| 6 | York | 1 |