Toronto Metropolitan wing Aaron Rhooms was named recipient of the Mike Moser Memorial Trophy as national player of the year. The 6-6 fifth-year guard and business management major from Toronto, Ont. (Lincoln Prep) was the Ontario University Athletics player of the year for the second consecutive season. He was a first-team all-Canadian in 2024-25 and the national rookie of the year in 2021-22. He finished third in the nation in scoring. Rhooms started all 22 league games, playing an average 30.1 mpg. He hit 188-376 (.500) from the floor, 48-31 (.366) from the arc and 59-79 (.747) from the line, while garnering 159 boards, including 55 on the offensive glass and a 7.2 rpg, 29 fouls, 46 assists, 46 turnovers, a 1.0 asst/to ratio, 10 blocks, 16 steals and 483 points, for a 22.0 ppg. The other nominees were: Ethan Boag (Victoria); Christophe Tshibola (Laval); and D.J. Jackson (St. Francis Xavier).
Laval guard Christophe Tshibola was named recipient of the Dr. Peter Mullins Trophy as national rookie of the year. The 6-2 guard and sociology major from Montreal, Que. (Crestwood Prep), was the RSEQ player of the year, a first-team all-star, and the league’s rookie of the year. He started all 16 conference games, playing an average 31.4 mpg. He hit 109-236 (.462) from the floor, 16-52 (.308) from the arc and 100-121 (.826) from the line, while garnering 76 boards, including 9 on the offensive glass and a 4.8 rpg, 15 fouls, 56 assists, 43 turnovers, a 1/3 asst/to ratio, 15 steals and 334 points, for a 20.9 ppg. The other nominees were: Munroop Gill (Brandon); Jakub Dobiech (Queen’s); and Phoenyx Wyse (St. Francis Xavier)
Bishop’s forward Étienne Gagnon was named national defensive player of the year. The 6-7 fifth year forward and sociology major from Longueuil, Que. (Sherbrooke CEGEP) was the RSEQ defensive player of the year and a first team league all-star. He led the conference in rebounding. Gagnon started 14 of the 16 league games, playing an average 27.6 mpg. He hit 79-143 (.552) from the floor, 13-39 from the arc and 24-34 (.706) from the line, while garnering 163 boards, including 45 on the offensive glass and a 10.2 rpg, 40 fouls (fouling out once), 23 assists, 34 turnovers, a 0.7 asst/to ration, 4 blocks, 25 steals and 195 points, for a 12.2 ppg. The other nominees were: Geoffrey James (Victoria); Nelson Cilien (Carleton);’ Brandon Laryea (New Brunswick).
Bishop’s coach Matt McLean was named recipient of the Stuart W. Aberdeen Memorial Trophy as national coach of the year. The fourth-year coach led his troops to the RSEQ regular season and postseason titles and was named the conference coach of the year. He toiled for the Gaiters from 2010-15 and in his final year was an RSEQ all-star. He was a Gaiters assistant from 2017-22. The other nominees were: Mike Raimbault (Winnipeg); David DeAveiro (Toronto Metropolitan); Tyrell Vernon (St. Francis Xavier).
Joining Rhooms and Tshibola on the all-Canadian first team (all were first team conference all-stars) were: D.J. Jackson (St. Francis Xavier); Harold Santacruz (Lakehead); and Ethan Boag (Victoria). …………………………………………………… Jackson, a 6-4 guard and 4th-year human kinetics student from Cambridge, Ont., was a first-team All-Canadian selection for the second consecutive campaign and was again the AUS player of the year for the second consecutive campaign. He led the country in scoring for the second straight season. Jackson started all 19 AUS regular season games he played for an average 30.9 mpg. He hit 147-360 (.408) from the floor, 24-87 (.276) from the arc and 110-133 (.827) from the line, while garnering 124 boards, including 22 on the offensive glass and a 6.5 rpg, 47 fouls, 90 assists, 49 turnovers, a 1.8 asst/to ratio, 8 blocks, 36 steals and 428 points, for a 22.5 ppg. …………………………………………………… Santacruz, a 6-9 post and 4th-year commerce student from Madrid, Spain, started all 22 regular season OUA games, playing an average 32.2 mpg. He hit 178-380 (.468) from the floor, 21-70 (.300) from the arc and 114-153 (.745) from the line, while garnering 201 boards, including 59 on the offensive glass and a 9.1 rpg, 38 fouls (fouling out once), 56 assists, 61 turnovers, a 0.9 asst/to ratio, 17 blocks, 15 steals and 491 points, for a 22.3 ppg. …………………………………………………… Boag, a 6-9 post and 5th-year social sciences student from Victoria, B.C. (Claremont Secondary), started all 20 Canada West regular season games, playing an average 26.6 mpg. He hit 101-220 (.459) from the floor, 26-77 (.338) from the arc and 54-73 (.740) from the line, while garnering 107 boards, including 28 on the offensive glass and a 5.3 rpg, 29 fouls, 48 assists, 32 turnovers, a 1.6 asst/to ratio, 12 blocks, 17 steals and 282 points, for a 14.1 ppg.
The 2nd-team featured: Marcus Barnes (New Brunswick); Charles Robert (Bishop’s); Ollie Engen (Queen’s); Sultan Haider-Bhatti (Brandon); and Kato Jaro (Winnipeg). …………………………………………………… Barnes, a 4th-year business administration student from Kitchener, Ont. (Bill Crothers Secondary) started all 20 regular season OUA games, playing an average 31.3 mpg. He hit 124-337 (.368) from the floor, 42-151 (.278) from the arc and 94-122 (.770) from the line, while garnering 77 boards, including 13 on the offensive glass and a 3.9 rpg, 22 fouls, 56 assists, 51 turnovers, a 1.1 asst/to ration, 22 steals and 384 points, for a 19.2 ppg. …………………………………………………… Robert, a 6-9 forward and 5th-year mathematics student from Vaudreuil-Dorion, Que. (Suffield Academy) started all 16 RSEQ regular season games, playing an average 28.0 mpg. He hit 96-179 (.536) from the floor, 15-46 (.326) from the arc and 52-101 (.515) from the line, while garnering 94 boards, including 26 on the offensive glass and 5.9 rpg, 29 fouls (fouling out once), 65 assists, 43 turnovers, a 1.5 asst/to ratio, 14 blocks, 5 steals and 259 points, for a 16.2 ppg. Robert was a first-team all-Canadian in 2024-25. …………………………………………………… Engen, a 6-4 guard and 2nd-year kinesiology student from Kingston, Ont. (Orangeville Prep) started all 22 OUA regular games, playing an average 28.7 mpg. He hit 176-347 (.507) from the floor, 22-70 (.314) from the arc and 56-69 (.812) from the line, while garnering 87 boards, including 6 on the offensive glass and a 4.0 rpg, 22 fouls, 101 assists, 31 turnovers, a 3.3 asst/to ratio, 4 blocks, 29 steals and 430 points, for a 19.5 ppg. Engen was the national rookie of the year in 2024-25. …………………………………………………… Haider-Bhatti, a 6-4 fifth-year wing and business administration student from Laval, Que. (Vanier College), started all 19 Canada West games he played, for an average 36.5 mpg. He hit 130-307 (.423) from the floor, 48-153 (.314) from the arc and 74-83 (.892) from the line, while garnering 180 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass and a 10.5 rpg, 59 fouls, 109 assists, 94 turnovers, a 1.2 asst/to ratio, 3 blocks, 40 steals and 382 points, for a 20.1 ppg. Haider Bhatti was a second-team all-Canadian in 2024-25. …………………………………………………… Jaro, a 6-0, third-year guard and business administration student from Winnipeg, Man. (University of Winnipeg Collegiate), started all 19 Canada West games he played, for an average 33.6 mpg. He hit 92-204 (.451) from the floor, 38-102 (.373) from the arc and 61-70 (.871) from the line, while garnering 61 boards, including 19 on the offensive glass and a 3.2 rpg, 46 fouls, 107 assists, 69 turnovers, a 1.6 asst/to ratio, 10 blocks, 35 steals and 283 points, for a 14.9 ppg.
Joining Tshibola on the all-rookie team were: Phoenyx Wyse (St. Francis Xavier); Chakib Sedoud (Laval); Jakub Dobiech (Queen’s); and Munroop Gill (Brandon). …………………………………………………… Wyse, a 6-5 wing and sociology student from Toronto, Ont. (St. Michael’s College), as the AUS rookie of the year. Wyse started all 20 regular season AUS games, playing an average 26.9 mpg. He hit 110-220 from the floor, 10-42 (.238) from the arc and 56-88 (.636) from the line, while garnering 191 boards, including 68 on the offensive glass and a 9.6 rpg, 61 fouls (fouling out once), 32 assists, 48 turnovers, a 0.7 asst/to ratio, 8 blocks, 33 steals and 286 points, for a 14.3 ppg. ……………………………………………………Sedoud, a 6-10 post and electrical engineering student from Boumerdès, Algeria, was a first-team RSEQ all-star. He started all 10 RSEQ games he played, for an average 26.1 mpg. He hit 58-109 (.532) from the floor, 17-35 (.486) from the arc and 31-34 (.912) from the line, while garnering 66 boards, including 18 on the offensive glass, 15 fouls, 13 assists,28 turnovers, a 0.5 asst/to ratio, 3 blocks, 8 steals and 164 points, for a 16.4 ppg. …………………………………………………… Dobiech, a 6-0 guard and arts student from Kingston, Ont. (Frontenac Secondary) was the OUA rookie of the year. He started 5 of the 22 OUA regular season games he played, for an average 18.2 mpg. He hit 92-185 (.497) from the floor, 29-62 (.468) from the arc and 20-25 from the line, while garnering 44 boards, including 14 on the offensive glass and a 2.0 rpg, 22 fouls, 28 assists, 24 turnovers, a 1.1 asst/to ratio, 5 steals and 233 points, for a 10.6 ppg. …………………………………………………… Gill, a 5-11 guard and arts student from Surrey, B.C. (Canada Top Flight Academy West) was the Canada West rookie of the year. “Munroop has had an exceptional freshman season. He’s put in the work each day and really found his niche in our program,” said Brandon coach Gil Cheung. Gill started 10 of the 18 Canada West regular season games he played, for an average 29.5 mpg. He hit132-242 (.545) from the floor, 18-44 (.409) from the arc and 40-53 (.755) from the line, while garnering 71 boards, including 32 on the offensive glass and a 3.9 rpg, 40 fouls, 40 assists, 49 turnovers, a 0.8 asst/to ratio, 1 block, 41 steals and 322 points, for a 17.9 ppg.