CFL UNVEILS TEAM WINNERS FOR MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER AWARDS

We received the following press release from Matt Baker, Senior Manager of Communications and Media Relations with the BC Lions and wanted to pass it on to the football enthusiasts and Lions fans.

Enjoy the read:

The Canadian Football League announced team winners for the 2026 Most Outstanding Player Awards on Thursday. As voted on by four local members of the Football Reporters of Canada, the BC Lions team Award Winners are as follows:

Most Outstanding Player: Nathan Rourke
Most Outstanding Canadian: Nathan Rourke*
Most Outstanding Defensive Player: Darnell Sankey*
Most Outstanding Special Teams Player: Sean Whyte*
Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman: Kory Woodruff*
Most Outstanding Rookie: Parker McKenna*

*denotes unanimous selection.

Rourke- winner of the 2025 Most Outstanding Player and a two-time Most Outstanding Canadian recipient (2022, 2025), Rourke gets yet another double team nomination. 

Through 17 games and 15 starts so far this season, the Victoria native has completed 313 of 444 pass attempts (70.5%) for 4,614 yards and 24 touchdowns.

Rourke has eclipsed the 300-yard passing mark 11 times this season and leapfrogged Joe Paopao, Jonathan Jennings and Dave Dickenson into 5^th spot on the club’s all-time passing list with 15,788 yards.

The versatile quarterback has also added 356 rushing yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries.

Sankey- the veteran’s addition has had a remarkable impact on a resurgent defence this season.

Sankey recently eclipsed the 100-tackle mark, becoming only the second player in CFL history after Willie Pless to reach that total in three straight seasons. 

He has added three sacks, one interception, a forced fumble and 11 pass knockdowns through 17 games.

Whyte- it has been another solid campaign for Mr. Automatic, as he has made good on 42 of 46 field goal attempts (91.3 %) and 47 of 49 converts (95.9 %). 

Last week in Calgary, the pride of White Rock became just the third in history to score 1,000 points with the franchise, joining Lui Passaglia and Paul McCallum. 

Whyte earns the team nomination for a 5^th straight season

Woodruff– has made big strides in his second full season as the starter at left tackle. 

Appearing in every game this season and taking 994 total snaps, Woodruff has anchored a unit that’s helped the Lions lead the CFL in net offence (424.3 yards per game) and ranked second in rushing (119.2 yards per game) through 20 weeks. 

The epitome of discipline, Woodruff has only been flagged for penalties three times in 17 contests.

McKenna- after earning a spot following an impressive first training camp, McKenna has been a mainstay at the WILL linebacker position. 

Through 17 games, he has totalled 74 defensive tackles, four tackles for a loss, six tackles on special teams, a pair of forced fumbles and three pass knockdowns.

The CFL will announce three finalists for each award next week with the Voting done by a panel of local and national media members.