The 2023 CTFL draft saw 145 athletes be selected by the league’s four teams in hopes of guiding them to a championship. Almost one year later, the results of the team’s picks have been felt. Some picks panned out, while others didn’t. “Sleepers” lit up the league and injuries sidelined athletes seemingly destined for greatness. 

Last week, we looked back at the top ten core athletes taken in the 2023 draft. Now, we look ahead at the ten most exciting prospects of the upcoming draft. These promising athletes are not ranked in any particular order, as they will all have a huge impact their teams. Some have the potential to be competitive within their discipline, while others look poised for a sweep of all three marks. 

Eliezer Adjibi, 100m

Adjibi is one to watch. The 2023 CTFL season saw the Spitfires Brandon Letts dominate, taking first place in each mark and finishing with 76 points. Letts’ fastest time of the season – and his personal best – was 10.22. At the same meet, the Bob Vigars Classic in London, Ont., Adjibi narrowly beat Letts’ time with a 10.21, also his personal best. Adjibi, who won gold at the 2022 Summer Games in the 100m, will be a huge pick for whichever team selects him, as he looks poised for a top-two finish. The 23-year-old’s addition to the CTFL will make for an exciting season, as fans can expect Adjibi and Letts to push each other in what will likely be a tight race for first in the men’s 100m.

Best Fit: Bears, Huskies

Anthony Labbé, Shot Put

Labbé is a stellar shot-put athlete who will be high on the lists of drafting teams. The Quebec native’s personal best of 16.39m, recorded in March 2023, was the country’s sixth-longest throw in the 2023 indoor season. His throw would have been the best of the event if he had been a CTFL athlete. Only 22 years old, Labbé is poised to improve on his personal best and could be a dominant force in his event. Field events played a huge part in the Spitfire’s victory and Labbé could help other teams catch up in that category.

Best Fit: Bears, Arctics

Leah Jones, Long Jump

Another Field athlete, Jones is a top prospect for the 2024 draft. With a personal best of 6.18m, Jones will rank highly in the upcoming season if she can perform at her top level. With only two athletes in the discipline recording a jump over six metres, Jones looks likely to finish near the top next season. During her time with the York University Lions, Jones was a standout athlete, winning the 2022 Female Athlete of the Year and a U Sports gold medal. As previously mentioned, field events pushed the Spitfires to victory last season. With teams looking to strengthen their field events to prevent another Spitfires runaway, Jones will surely be highly sought after in the draft. 

Best Fit: Arctics

Daniel Skepple, 200m

The 200m athlete is one to watch in this year’s draft. At just 16 years old, Skepple ran a 22.83  at the Ontario Indoor U18 Athletics Championships. Just months later and now 17 – his current age – the young athlete ran a 21.37. A run that fast would place Skepple at the top of the men’s 200m event. Just 17, Skepple, with his potentially league-leading time, is not only a pick for the immediate future, but one that can bring his team success in seasons to come. 

Best Fit: Huskies

Dawson Mann, 800m

The sole mid-distance athlete included, Mann will surely be on the team’s radars before the draft. This past season, the University of Manitoba athlete ran his best of 1:50.42 at the Canadian Championships in Langley, B.C. While that time was only enough to secure him a fourth-place finish in the race, it would have placed him in the top three of the CTFL’s 800m division. In a highly competitive event where the top nine athletes’ best times are less than two seconds apart, the 22-year-old may be able to win his team some vital points next season.

Best Fit: Spitfires

Grégory Michel, 110mH

Michel will certainly be a high pick in the upcoming draft, as he will challenge David Adeleye’s dominance in the 110m hurdles. Michel’s personal best of 13.99 – achieved this past outdoor season – is narrowly slower than Adeleye’s 13.92 and faster than third-placed Adam Andres’ 14.17. Shaving off more than half a second since 2022, Michel looks like a dangerous opponent to the Bears Adeleye. Rival teams will look to select Michel with hopes of winning points in the discipline, while the Bears may take him to widen the gap in it.

Best Fit: Huskies, Arctics, Bears

Marie-Eve Dahms, 400mH

Dahms, at 28-years-old, will bring both experience and speed to the CTFL. The University of Ottawa alumni has registered to compete in the 400m hurdles. With a personal best of 1:02.00 in the event, only CTFL star Alexandra Telford had a better time this season, with a 58.51 at the Bell Canadian Track & Field Championships in Langley, B.C.  According to World Athletics, Dahms has yet to record a 400m hurdle time since her personal best in July 2019. Since then, Dahms has run a handful of events with a focus on the 400m, running her personal best (57.75) in Feb. 2023. Dahms’ 400m time has improved by over a second since 2019, and teams will be hoping her hurdle time has, too. If Dahms can get in her stride, she could win vital points for the team that picks her up. 

Best Fit: Bears

Zach Frangos, 5000m

In a tightly contested 5000m, Frangos would be a smart pickup for any team. The 24-year-old, a member of the UofT Varsity Blues cross-country team, has qualified for three U Sports championships, placing 22nd in the 2023 xc-race. A personal best of 14:50 wouldn’t be in the top three of the discipline, but, as athlete’s times wavered throughout the season – only one athlete holds two of the same-placed marks –  a competitive 5000m runner will be sought after.

Best Fit: Spitfires, Huskies

Olivia Roussel, 5000m

Like Frangos, Roussel looks to be a good pick but for the opposite reason. In 2023, the CTFL women’s 5000m had a nearly two-minute gap between first-placed Erin Mawhinney (16:09.69) of the Spitfires and second-placed Noémie Beauregard (17:50.00) of the Arctics. Roussel, a former cross country runner for the Guelph Gryphons, will be near the top of the discipline if she can deliver a performance close to her personal best of 17:28.00. With a likely top-three finish in the not-so-competitive women’s 5000m, teams will have Roussel high on their lists.

Best Fit: Huskies, Bears

Arman Shahzadeh, Long Jump

The 2004-born long jumper has the potential to make waves in his discipline. A part of the Western University Mustangs track & field team, Shahzadeh enters the draft pool with a wind-legal personal best of 7.28m. Shahzadeh’s longest jump wouldn’t guarantee him a spot among the top three athletes, but the young athlete has been rapidly improving since 2021 when his longest jump was 6.83m. Teams will note Shahzadeh’s impressive results at a young age and consider drafting him to bolster their field rosters.

Best Fit: Bears, Arctics

Madisson Lawrence, 100mH

With a personal best of 13.92 this past June, Lawrence enters the draft pool as an impressive prospect. As only two athletes in the women’s sprint hurdles discipline recorded times under 14 seconds, Lawrence looks likely to place high next season. Coming off an incredible season in which she won U Sports Field Athlete of the Year and a pentathlon gold at nationals, Lawrence has proved she is incredibly talented. Teams will surely have Lawrence on their radars before the draft, especially the Huskies, who only had one athlete in the women’s sprint hurdles during the 2023 season.

Best Fit: Huskies

With just a few months until the draft, teams will be looking through the draft pool for the best-fitting athletes. These ten will likely high picks in the draft, as they look able to fix gaps in different teams rosters. Aside from the ten athletes, there are many other talented prospects available for selection. With over 100 athletes registered, teams will have to strategically chose who to pick, and when, to boost their chances of victory in the 2024 CTFL season.