The CPL's 2026 regular season came to a dramatic conclusion on Sunday, and now it is time to determine who stood out above the rest.
Voting will soon begin for the league's awards, including, notably, the 2026 Player of the Year Award.
The winner of the award will join the storied list of CPL Players of the Year, which includes: Atlético Ottawa's Sam Salter (2025), Forge's Tristan Borges (2019, 2024) and Kyle Bekker (2020), Halifax Wanderers' João Morelli (2021), Atlético Ottawa's Ollie Bassett (2022) and Cavalry FC's Daan Klomp (2023).
The league's official list of nominees for all awards will start rolling out over the coming weeks leading up to the CPL Awards ceremony during CPL Final weekend.
Here is a list of ten players who were standouts this season and could be in the conversation, listed in alphabetical order:
Antoine Batisse, Forge FC
Whether he was playing as a central defender or a deep-lying midfielder, Batisse quickly became a crucial figure in Forge FC's team. He finished fifth in the CPL in possession won, with 119. Despite playing a more defensive role, he was also lethal on set plays, finishing with four goals and three assists. Three of those goals were match-winners.
Morey Doner, Vancouver FC
Doner was one of the CPL's most consistently excellent players this season, starting all 28 matches for Vancouver FC and contributing two goals and two assists. His defensive stats, in particular, were incredible. Doner led the league in possession won in the defensive third, doing so 83 times. He was third in the league in duels won, with 150 and won an incredible 66.1 per cent of his duels. Doner finished sixth in the CPL in chances created, with 38, and was second in the league in successful crosses (37) and second among outfield players in recoveries with 130.
Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau, Atlético Ottawa
Fleuriau Chateau only joined Atlético Ottawa halfway through the 2026 CPL season, but he instantly made a clear impact. In 14 matches with Atleti, he scored seven goals and had three assists. The importance of those tallies stood out as well: Fleuriau Chateau had three match-winning goals, and two match-winning assists, many of them in incredibly dramatic fashion.
Isaiah Johnston, Halifax Wanderers
It was a career year for the Halifax midfielder, who scored 11 times and added two assists. He also led the league in expected goals with 11.47 and had the most goals from the penalty spot in the CPL this season, with five.
Daan Klomp, Cavalry FC
Klomp led all defenders in scoring this season, with six goals for CPL Shield winners Cavalry FC. Dominant in the air, he scored four of those goals from headers and finished fourth in the league in aerial duels won, with 48, and seventh in clearances, with 97.
Loïc Kwemi, FC Supra du Québec
Loïc Kwemi already has one award to his name after winning the league's Golden Boot with 15 goals, the second most a player has ever scored in a CPL season. He scored a third of all goals scored by FC Supra in their inaugural season, and added two assists. Kwemi also led the league in touches in the opposition box (171), dribbles completed (73), shots on target (33), and finished third in the league in chances created with 41.
Dan Nimick, Forge FC
Starting all but two matches for the league's best backline, Nimick scored four goals and had three assists. He won possession 62 times in the defensive third, fifth-most in the league. Once again this year, he showed his incredible passing range with a league-leading 186 successful long passes and completed an impressive 89.63 per cent of his passes overall.
Sean Rea, FC Supra du Québec
In FC Supra's inaugural season, Rea quickly became his club's talisman. He put up seven goals, the most he has ever had in a CPL season, and six assists. He was second in the league in expected assists with 7.05 and finished top of the league in chances created, with 47, also finishing second in shots with 81.
Ballou Tabla, Atlético Ottawa
With the departure of last year's Player of the Year Sam Salter, and Final MVP David Rodríguez, Atlético Ottawa needed someone to step up in attack. That someone was Ballou Tabla. With 11 goals and two assists, he led the way in attack for Atleti all season. Nine of those goals came from open play, which was the second-most in the league this season.
Tobias Warschewski, Cavalry
Given his legendary status, it's impressive to say that this was Tobias Warschewski's best CPL season to date. The Cavalry attacker set a CPL record for assists in a season with 10, and added 11 goals of his own during a tremendous campaign to lead the league in goal contributions. He also led the CPL in duels won (164) and had seven match-winning goal contributions (a league-leading four goals and three assists).
