CFL unveils official Most Outstanding Rookie candidates

Photo courtesy: Edmonton Elks.

The Canadian Football League has officially identified 139 players as being eligible for this year’s Most Outstanding Rookie award.

In order to qualify, players must have been on an active roster for at least one regular-season game in 2026, while having never before played a regular-season, postseason, or championship game in the CFL or NFL.

The CFL’s reigning Most Outstanding Rookie is Winnipeg Blue Bombers defensive back and return specialist Trey Vaval. Other recent winners include Edmonton linebacker Nick Anderson, Toronto defensive back Qwan’tez Stiggers, Winnipeg receiver Dalton Schoen, and B.C. linebacker Jordan Williams.

The winner of the award will be determined by the nine teams, and the local and national voting members of the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC).

There will not be a traditional awards ceremony in 2026, as players will instead be honoured at surprise presentations late in the regular-season and into the playoffs, with video clips being published online.

B.C. Lions

Bailey, Emani | RB | Texas Christian
Bolden, Silas | WR | Texas
Cenacle, Nick | WR | Hawaii
DeMontagnac, Nate | WR | North Dakota
Goforth, Ralen | LB | Washington
Gusta, David | DL | Kentucky
Henning, Chase | LB | UBC
Kemeni, Pierre Jr. | DB | Ohio
McKenna, Parker | LB | Washington State
Russell, Tyson | DB | Vanderbilt
Salter, Kaidon | QB | Liberty
Spatny, Matt | DL | Lehigh
Taylor, Colby | DL | West Florida
Walker-Hunt, Tyran | OL | Old Dominion
Williams, Jaden | WR | Texas State

Edmonton Elks

Bastone, Carmine | DL | Northwestern
Carter, Cameron | OL | Murray State
Cooper, Joe | OL | Slippery Rock
Djabome, Dariel | LB | Rutgers
Kettyle, Carter | WR | Alberta
Luther, T.J. | WR | Gardner-Webb
Meyer, Gavin | DL | Southern California
Pace, Justin | LB | Queen’s
Pashula, Chris | OL | Calgary
Powell, ShunDerrick | RB | Central Arkansas
Reid, Terez | DB | Florida Atlantic
Sangmuah, Benjamin | DB | University of British Columbia
Tennison, Ladarius | DB | Central Florida

Calgary Stampeders

Alexander, Zy | DB | Louisiana State
Ashmore, Bradley | OL | Vanderbilt
Coly, Bakyne | OL | Purdue
Frazier, Savio | DL | Miami (Ohio)
Grzesiak, Daniel | DL | Cincinnati
Haie, Anton | DB | Laval
Hills, Elijah | DL | Wisconsin
Hunter, Jeremiah | WR | Washington
Manns, Khairi | DL | James Madison
Marois, Tristan | DL | Colorado
Miller-Melancon, Ashton | DB | Queen’s
Moten, R.J. | LB | Florida
Ojutalayo, Jesulayomi | WR | Wilfrid Laurier
Rascoe, Eric | LB | Angelo State
Stokman, Matthew | OL | Manitoba
Wooldridge, Ben | QB | Louisiana

Saskatchewan Roughriders

Andersen, Erik | OL | Western
Bell, Darius | OL | East Carolina
Bell, Malcolm | DB | Michigan State
Burgess, James Jr. | DB | Alabama State
Chapman, Oscar | P | Auburn
Charles, Kendy | DL | Duke
Conley, Quali | RB | Arizona
Djete, Dylan | WR | Alabama State
Evans, Desmond | DL | North Carolina
Gbenda, David | LB | Texas
Hale, Alex | K | Oklahoma State
Hoskins, Liam | DL | Windsor
Hughes, Juwuane | DB | Fresno State
Johnson, Johnny III | WR | Oregon
Oladipo, Seyi Jr. | DB | Boise State
Pate, Jaylen | DL | Northwestern
Sexton, Mathew | WR | Eastern Michigan
Wiebe, Daniel | WR | Saskatchewan

Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Bouliane, Charles-Elliot | LB | Montreal
Clark, Brody | LB | York
Daniels, Dante | TE | North Carolina State
Elgersma, Taylor | QB | Wilfrid Laurier
Elsbury, Tyler | OL | Iowa
Fletcher, Michael | DT | Appalachian State
Gatkuoth, Nuer | DE | Wake Forest
Hazen, Dylan | LB | Wake Forest
Reese, David | DE | Syracuse
Singer, Dorian | WR | Utah
Stuart, Ethan | DB | McMaster
Texada, Ridge | DB | North Texas
Williams, Major | DB | Carson-Newman
Womack, Kenneth | WR | Western Michigan

Hamilton Tiger-Cats

Benton, De’Jon | DL | Hawaii
Biggins, Nahree | RB | Central Michigan
Cromwell, Devynn | DB | Michigan State
Crook, Jordan | LB | Arizona State
Denis, Jonathan | OL | Louisiana Tech
Gagné, Loïk | LB | Concordia
Hayes, Kaleb | DB | Brigham Young
Mang, Maximilian | TE | Syracuse
McCarthy, Mitch | P | Indiana
Nitychoruk, Jake | DB | Manitoba
Notice, Aamarii | DL | Coastal Carolina
Swartout, Brayden | OL | Central Michigan
Szeman, Brayden | OL | Calgary

Toronto Argonauts

Arnold, Akili | DB | Southern California
Bell, Jalen | DL | Memphis
Bland, Desmond | OL | West Florida
Burnip, James | P | Alabama
Ceasar, James | DB | Southern Illinois
Davis, Solomon | WR | Central Michigan
Gauthier, Louis-Philippe | DB | Montreal
Goss, Owen | LB | Arizona
Hickey, Dathan | DB | Youngstown State
Hicks, Sam | RB | Abilene Christian
John, Ethan | DB | Windsor
Jones, Qualan | RB | Stephen F. Austin
Kahmann, Tyler | WR | Emporia State
Maisonneuve, Gabriel | DL | Montreal
McKenzie, Darius | LB | South Alabama
Miller, Dymere | WR | Rutgers
Neal, James | LB | Texas State
Parsalidis, Sebastian | FB | Wilfrid Laurier
Piazza, Domenico | OL | McGill
Rayam, Jalen | LB | UTEP
Ready, Tristan | WR | Carleton
Reimer, Rush | OL | California
Shand, Paris | DL | Louisiana State
Smith, Isaiah | RB | Guelph
Teubner, Alexander | LB | Boise State
Toia, Soane | DL | San Jose State
Ulm, Nolan | WR | Eastern Washington
Vreugdenhil, Frank | OL | McMaster

Ottawa Redblacks

Barlev, Zachary | OT | Old Dominion
Barnes, Marcus | DB | William & Mary
Briggs, Dennis Jr. | DT | Illinois
Connors, Josh | LB | Wilfrid Laurier
Diouf, Alassane | OG | Montreal
Dobson, Benjamin | LB | Calgary
Jordan, Ethan | WR | Wilfrid Laurier
Lucien, Jeremy | DB | Vanderbilt
McDonald, Cade | WR | Miami (Ohio)
Parks, Charlie | DE | Saskatchewan
Pearl, Julian | OT | Illinois
Spencer, Lucus | LS | Bishop’s
Stafford, Jelani | DT | Connecticut
Tezino, Kyahva | LB | San Diego State
Vaccaro, Giordano | OG | Purdue

Montreal Alouettes

Guy, TJ | DL | Michigan
Jones, Rohan | TE | Arkansas
Louis, Shakespeare | DB | Southeastern Louisiana
Manuel, Donovan | LB | Florida International
Mews, Mekhi | WR | Houston
Sutherland, Jonathan | DB | Penn State
Talbot, Liam | RB | Windsor