X-Men Basketball standout DJ Jackson up for national award
STFX X-Men Basketball standout guard DJ Jackson is one of eight nominees in contention for the Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards for the U SPORTS Athletes of the Year in ceremony to be held June 2nd
The Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards for the U SPORTS Athletes of the Year will be announced on Monday, June 2, at a ceremony in Collingwood, Ontario. The awards ceremony is being held in conjunction with the U SPORTS Conference and Annual Meeting for the second straight year.
The awards ceremony is set to begin at 6 p.m. EST and will be streamed on the U SPORTS YouTube channel.
The Awards, which date back to 1993, were created to increase the profile and support of Canadian university student-athletes. Mitchell, the namesake for the annual Mitchell Bowl football game, continued his involvement up until his passing in 2022.
Each U SPORTS member has the opportunity to nominate their female and male athletes of the year, from which one finalist of each gender is chosen to represent the Atlantic, Canada West, Ontario and Quebec conferences. These eight nominees are considered for the U SPORTS Athletes of the Year based on their athletic accomplishments, outstanding sportsmanship and demonstrated leadership. A vote of the Canadian Athletic Foundation trustee will determine the winners.
The 2024-25 finalists are:
- AUS: Alliyah Rowe (Cape Breton, Women's Soccer) and DJ Jackson (STFX, Men's Basketball)
- RSEQ: Marie-Frédérique Poulin (Laval, Women's Track & Field) and Philippe Morneau Cartier (Laval, Men's Cross-Country and Men's Track & Field)
- OUA: Favour Okpali (Western, Women's Track & Field) and Taylor Elgersma (Laurier, Football)
- CW: Gage Grassick (Saskatchewan, Women's Basketball) and Nate Petrone (Calgary, Men's Basketball)
Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards: Alliyah Rowe and DJ Jackson named AUS finalists
Alliyah Rowe, a women's soccer striker from Cape Breton, and DJ Jackson, a basketball guard for STFX, are the first two finalists for the Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards for the U SPORTS athletes of the year.
2024-25 AUS Men's Athlete of the Year: DJ Jackson, STFX X-Men Basketball
A human kinetics student from Mississauga, Ont., Jackson was named the AUS men's basketball most valuable player this season, leading the X-Men to a 15-5 regular season record and a first-place finish in the conference standings.
The third-year guard was the 2024-25 U SPORTS scoring champion, averaging 24.4 points per game.
He averaged 7.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game for the X-Men this season, and led the conference in steals, averaging 2.2 per game.
He led the country in free throws made with 124 and was seventh nationally with an 86.1 free throw percentage.
Jackson's standout season earned him U SPORTS first team all-Canadian nods.
He was also named a tournament all-star at the AUS Men's Basketball Championship where the X-Men were the 2025 runners up, despite back-to-back 33-point games from Jackson.
He was honoured as STFX's 2024-25 Male Student-Athlete of the Year.
Jackson is the eighth STFX athlete to be a national finalist, following Sarah Bujold (2017), Emma Taylor (2015), Tyson Beukeboom (2012), Michael Marousek (2011), Ghislaine Landry (2009), Richard Karikari (2003) and Fred Perry (2000).
