D.J. Jackson named U SPORTS 1st team all-Canadian

STFX X-Men Basketball guard D.J. Jackson, a third year Human Kinetics from Mississauga, Ont. was honoured as a U SPORTS first team all-Canadian, as announced at the U SPORTS championship awards banquet in Vancouver, BC Wednesday night. Jackson was the 2025 AUS most valuable player and leading scorer (24.4 PPG) in the country this season.

The complete awards release from U SPORTS follows. 

Gage Grassick and Nate Petrone named U SPORTS basketball players of the year

VANCOUVER (U SPORTS) – Gage Grassic of the Saskatchewan Huskies and Nate Petrone of the Calgary Dinos have been named the players of the year in U SPORTS basketball. Grassic wins the Nan Copp Trophy as the player of the year in women's basketball, while Petrone captured the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy for his accomplishments in men's basketball. The announcement was made on Wednesday night at the All-Canadian Award Ceremony in Vancouver, site of both the men's and women's Final 8 tournaments.

In women's basketball, the other major awards went to Keira Daily of UBC, who won the Kathy Shields Award as rookie of the year; Katie Butts of UNB, who won the Sylvia Sweeney Award for student-athlete community service; Ally Smith of Queen's, who won the Tracy MacLeod Award for her courage overcoming adversity; Clara Gascoigne of Saint Mary's, who nabbed defensive player of the year honours; and Dani Sinclair of Carleton, who won the Peter Ennis Award as the Fox40 Coach of the Year.

On the men's side, major prizes also went to Ollie Engen of Queen's, who won the Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy as rookie of the year; Kamari Scott of UPEI, who took home the Ken Shields award (student-athlete community service); Sam Maillet of Victoria, who was named the defensive player of the year; and Murphy Burnatowski of Victoria, who won the Stuart W. Aberdeen Memorial Award as the Fox40 Coach of the Year.

The 2024 INDOCHINO U SPORTS Women's and Men's Final 8s, presented by Victory Creative Group, get underway on Thursday at both the War Memorial Gym and the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre at UBC. Play continues through to the gold medal games which will be at 1 p.m. (men) and 4 p.m. (women) Pacific Time on Sunday.

Championship website (W): https://en.usports.ca/championships/2024-2025/2024-25_WBB/index
Championship website (M): https://en.usports.ca/championships/2024-2025/2024-25_MBB/index

Men's Major Award Winners

Mike Moser Memorial Trophy (most valuable player) – Nate Petrone, Calgary

After a breakout performance in his first season on the court with the Dinos a season ago, Nate Petrone took his game to yet another level, establishing himself as the top player in all of U SPORTS this season. The 6-foot-2 guard was simply dominant every time out, scoring 484 points on the year in 20 games – the most in the country. His 24.2 points/game average saw him finish second in U SPORTS, while also shooting at an incredible clip for a guard at 56.8 percent – ninth best in the nation.

The Calgary product also dished out 99 assists on the year, ranking him in the top 10 in U SPORTS in that category, as well. He also finished his fourth year going 98-110 (89.1%) from the free-throw line and 50-116 (43.1%) from three-point range.

Petrone is the fourth Dino to be named national player of the year, following Brett Layton (2020), Richard Bohne (1996) and Karl Tilleman (1982 and 1983).

Other nominees: D.J. Jackson (StFX), Charles Robert (Bishop's), Aaron Rhooms (Toronto Metropolitan).

Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy (rookie of the year) – Ollie Engen, Queen's

Ollie Engen had an immediate impact on the floor for the Gaels, leading the team in scoring with 18.8 points per game, fifth in the OUA and 14^th overall in the country. The Kingston product finished third in Canada with 161 field goals overall and was sixth in free-throw percentage (86.3%). He demonstrated skill and versatility on both ends of the court, leading the Gaels to a 16-6 regular season record and a spot in the Wilson Cup final and their fourth straight trip to the Final 8.

Engen becomes the first Gael to win the award.

Other nominees: Ryan Regault (Acadia), Noah Sincere (McGill), Kyle Varner (Alberta).

Defensive player of the year – Sam Maillet, Victoria

Sam Maillet is the 2024-25 U SPORTS defensive player of the year and has the unique distinction of being the only person to win defensive player of the year in two different conferences. After completing his undergraduate work at Dalhousie – where was named AUS defensive player of the year in 2022 and won three AUS titles, he transferred to Victoria to pursue an MBA this season. He helped the Vikes to a 20-0 Canada West season and the third-lowest opponent scoring average in the conference (70.2 points per game). The product of Moncton, N.B., averaged 6.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game for Victoria, while leading the team and ranking eighth in the conference with a 4.0 assists per game average. His 2.1 assist to turnover ratio tied for third best in Canada West in 2024-25.

Maillet becomes the first Vike to win the award.

Other nominees: Jeff Ngandu (StFX), Étienne Gagnon (Bishop's), Jacque-Mélanie Guemeta (Ottawa).

Ken Shields Award (student-athlete community service) – Alexander Dewar, Saskatchewan

Kamari Scott of the UPEI Panthers is the 2024-25 recipient of the prestigious Ken Shields Award. Scott worked hard on the court, in the classroom and in the community this season.

A business student in his final year of eligibility from Mississauga, Ont., he averaged 14.1 points and 6.9 rebounds per game this season for the Panthers. He is a two-time all-star, having been named an AUS First Team All-Star this season and an AUS Second Team All-Star last season.

Successful in the classroom as well as on the court, Scott achieved Academic All-Canadian status last season and was the UPEI nominee for AUS's prestigious James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award. He was also the recipient of the U SPORTS and BlackNorth Initiative's Athletes on Track bursary.

Scott lends his time to several community initiatives, both on and off campus. He has been active with UPEI youth basketball camps, visits to local schools and has organized opportunities for youth in the community to come watch the Panthers' games and meet the players. He also serves as a youth basketball official—refereeing games at local middle schools and high schools. On campus, he is a member of UPEI's Sports Industry Society, as well as the Black Student Association.

Scott is the first UPEI Panther, and the 10th AUS athlete, to earn the Ken Shields Award.

Other nominees: Charles Robert (Bishop's), Ismail Hassan (Guelph), Asher Mayan (Thompson Rivers).

Stuart W. Aberdeen Memorial Award (Fox 40 Coach of the Year) – Craig Beaucamp, Victoria

In his first year at the helm of the University of Victoria men's basketball program, Murphy Burnatowski has guided the Vikes to a 20-0 Canada West season, marking the fourth undefeated conference season in program history and first since 1983-84. Additionally, Burnatowski becomes the first coach in U SPORTS men's basketball since 1975-76 to guide their program to an undefeated conference season in their first year. Burnatowski's team has been ranked No. 1 in the U SPORTS Top 10 all season and the top seed in the Canada West playoffs. His team's 89.5 points per game scoring average was the second-best in the league, while their 70.2 points per game allowed to their opponents was third in the conference.

Burnatowski is the third Victoria coach to win the national coach of the year honour, following the legendary Ken Shields (1979, 1982, 1983) and Craig Beaucamp (2024).

Other nominees: Darrell Glenn (UPEI), Matt McLean (Bishop's), Ryan Thomson (Lakehead).

-U SPORTS-