Three former MAC players drafted in 2026 CFL Canadian and Global Drafts
Solid special teamers from the MAC will get the chance to latch on to a team professionally in Canada.
While all eyes were on the NFL Draft, the Canadian Football League also drafted its next generation of stars.
Although most of the picks came from USports, Canada's collegiate sports association, NCAA student-athletes are also eligible to be selected by CFL squads.
Two former MAC players were among the players selected in the "National Draft", which selects from eligible Canadian and Canadian-American prospects, while one was selected in the "Global Draft", which selects from prospects outside of North America.
Players drafted in either process can still pursue NFL or UFL opportunities if they are offered, with the players' rights held by the drafting team.
The National Draft saw the British Columbia (BC) Lions select former Ohio Bobcat linebacker Pierre Kemeni (Milton, Ontatio) with the 36th overall pick, while the Montreal Alouettes selected former Northern Illinois defensive back Cyrus McGarrell (Windsor, Ontario) with the 64th pick.
After transferring from Ohio to Garden City Community College and New Mexico, Kemeni returned to Athens for the 2025 season. Across three seasons with the Bobcats from 2020-21 and 2025, Kemeni appeared in 24 games and made 14 tackles. His greatest contributions for Ohio came on special teams.
These totals add to the 21 tackles he made from 2023-2024 with Garden City Community College and New Mexico. Kemeni also intercepted a pass with Garden City CC in 2023.
Northern Illinois' Cyrus McGarrell also looks to capitalize on his college career up north. McGarrell played in 39 games with the Huskies, making 31 tackles, with two interceptions and pass breakups apiece over four seasons.
Both of McGarrell's interceptions came in 2023 against Eastern Michigan and Ohio. McGarrell also made a tackle in NIU's iconic upset over Notre Dame in 2024. Like Kemeni, McGarrell was a special teams standout.
Both prospects should be able to compete for a spot right away, as the CFL ruleset is friendlier to specialist play than American pro sets.
UMass punter Keegan Andrews, a native of Australia, was selected 13th overall in the Global Draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. In his lone season with UMass, Andrews was named first-team all-MAC and also earned second-team All-American honors from the Football Writers Association of America, with 69 punts for 3,211 net yards and a 46.5 yards-per-punt average after transferring from Texas A&M in the offseason.
All three players hope to establish themselves in the CFL alongside other former MAC stars such as Nathan Rourke, A.J. Ouellete, Dustin Crum and Kalil Pimpleton.
