LANGLEY, B.C. – Coming off a season in which he was named a Canada West First Team All-Star, Trinity Western midfielder Joel Waterman (Aldergrove, B.C.) was selected by Cavalry FC (Calgary) in the second round of the inaugural CPL-U SPORTS draft.
Following the 2018 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Championship at UBC, the Canadian Premier League held a three-round draft, with 21 players selected from across the U SPORTS landscape.
Waterman's selection by Cavalry FC sees him return to Calgary where he played with Calgary Foothills FC last summer within the Premier Development League. The fifth-year Spartan helped TWU to a Canada West silver medal this year and captained his team to its first appearance at the U SPORTS Championship since 2009. After beating top-seeded York to open the national tournament, the Spartans eventually finished fourth overall after losses to Montreal, who went on to win the U SPORTS title, and Carleton.
2018 CPL-U SPORTS DRAFT
The 21 players (3 rounds) who were selected have been invited to their CPL club's preseason camp in early 2019. Players were notified in order of draft pick and were invited to participate in preseason camp by the club that drafted him with the opportunity to sign either with a Standard Developmental Contract for non-graduating student-athletes or a Pro Contract for graduating seniors.
This truly unique partnership between the CPL and U SPORTS will provide student-athletes with an opportunity to be signed to a CPL-U SPORTS Developmental Contract. This will allow a student-athlete with one to four years of eligibility remaining to play with a CPL club in the spring and summer before returning to U SPORTS competition.
The seven clubs took part in a randomized lottery system to determine the draft order.
About the Canadian Premier League
Canadian Premier League (CPL) is Canada's professional men's soccer league set to debut in April 2019. Playing in world-class and unique venues, and partnering with strong community-led ownership groups, CPL is a league for Canadians by Canadians that will bring professional soccer to communities coast-to-coast. For updates and more information, go to www.CanPL.ca.
About U SPORTS
U SPORTS is the national brand for university sports in Canada. Every year, close to 20,000 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. U SPORTS also provide higher performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous World University Championships. For further information, visit USPORTS.ca or follow us on:
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