Ottawa Selects Aidan Laros First Overall in 2026 CFL Global Draft

South African punter headlines 18 players drafted from 12 countries

The Ottawa REDBLACKS have selected South African punter Aidan Laros out of the University of Kentucky with the first overall selection in the 2026 Canadian Football League (CFL) Global Draft.

Toronto drafted Australian offensive lineman Jordan Spasojevic-Moko at No. 2, followed by Edmonton taking Mexican kicker Jesus Gomez with the third pick. In total, 18 players were selected from 12 countries.

The 2026 CFL Canadian Draft conducted on April 28 saw Ottawa select Winnipeg offensive lineman Giordano Vaccaro out of Purdue University with the first overall selection. Complete results can be found here.

Additional information surrounding the Class of 2026 can be found in the CFL Draft Guide (available for download below).

Rookie camps will open on May 6, with training camps following on May 10. The upcoming campaign kicks off on June 4 with the Montreal Alouettes visiting the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

The 2026 season will be broadcast in Canada by Bell Media across TSN, CTV and RDS. Select games in the U.S. will air exclusively on CBS Sports Network, while the remaining slate will be available live and on-demand for 48 hours through the league’s free online streaming platform, CFL+. Viewers outside of North America will be able to tune into the whole season on CFL+.

2026 CFL GLOBAL DRAFT
(No. (Overall) | Team | Name | POS | College/Team | Country)

FIRST ROUND

1. Ottawa | Aidan Laros | P | Kentucky | South Africa

2. Toronto | Jordan Spasojevic-Moko | OL | California | Australia

3. Edmonton | Jesus Gomez | K | Arizona State | Mexico

4. Winnipeg | Edward Vesterinen | DL | West Virginia | Finland

5. Hamilton | Nick Haberer | P | Vanderbilt | Australia

6. Calgary | Jude McAtamney | K | Rutgers | Ireland

7. BC | Brett Thorson | P | Georgia | Australia

8. Montreal | Mark Petry | OL | Syracuse | Germany

9. Saskatchewan | Mapalo Mwansa | LB | Loughborough | England

SECOND ROUND

1. (10) | Ottawa | Paul Geelen | K | Southern Illinois | Netherlands

2. (11) | Toronto | Fa’alili Fa’amoe | OL | Wake Forest | American Samoa

3. (12) | Edmonton | Jeffrey M’Ba | DL | SMU | France

4. (13) | Winnipeg | Keegan Andrews | P | Massachusetts | Australia

5. (14) | Hamilton | Mitch McCarthy | P | Indiana | Australia

6. (15) | Calgary | Jireh Ojata | DL | Purdue | Nigeria

7. (16) | BC | Seydou Traore | TE | Mississippi State | England

8. (17) | Montreal | Jack Burgess | P | Texas Tech | Australia

9. (18) | Saskatchewan | Kansei Matsuzawa | K | Hawaii | Japan

BY THE NUMBERS

• Position breakdown

  • Ten punters/kickers

  • Three offensive linemen

  • Three defensive linemen

  • One linebacker

  • One tight end

• Country breakdown

  • Australia | 6

  • England | 2

  • South Africa | 1

  • Mexico | 1

  • Finland | 1

  • Ireland | 1

  • Germany | 1

  • Netherlands | 1

  • American Samoa | 1

  • France | 1

  • Nigeria | 1

  • Japan | 1