Lions’ Rourke named CFL’s top player, Canadian as West Division sweeps league awards

B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke celebrates his touchdown against the Calgary Stampeders during the second half of the CFL western semifinal football game, in Vancouver, on Saturday, November 1, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

WINNIPEG — Nathan Rourke and the West Division stole the show at the CFL awards Thursday night.

The B.C. Lions quarterback earned the George Reed Trophy as the CFL’s outstanding player and was also named top Canadian at Club Regent Casino.

Rourke joins Brady Oliveira, Jon Cornish, Russ Jackson and Tony Gabriel as the only players to capture both honours in the same year.

“Those names are obviously legendary in the CFL and it’s so much cooler that they’re Canadian as well,” said Rourke. “Just to be able to kind of continue the legacy they started and continue on the great traditions of this league is an honour and privilege and something I don’t take lightly.”

Trey Vaval of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers also received two awards: top rookie and special-teams player.

The other individual winners were B.C.’s Mathieu Betts (defensive player) and Jermarcus Hardrick of the Saskatchewan Roughriders (outstanding lineman).

Voting was conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada and all nine CFL head coaches. Fifty-three ballots were cast.

Logan Ferland, a Canadian offensive lineman with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, also received the Jake Gaudaur Veterans’ Trophy (awarded to the CFL player who best demonstrates attributes of Canada’s veterans). Canadian Andrew Peirson of the B.C. Lions claimed the Tom Pate Memorial Award (given for outstanding sportsmanship and community contribution).

Rourke, of Victoria, established career-highs in passing yards (5,290), touchdowns (31), rushing yards (564, tops among quarterbacks) and rushing TDs (10) as the Lions led the CFL in offensive points (31.1 per game), net yards (430.2) and passing (325.4 per game). B.C. won its final six regular-season games to finish second in the West Division with an 11-7 record.

But after dispatching Calgary 33-30 in the Western semifinal, B.C.’s season ended with a 24-21 loss to Saskatchewan last week.

And the two awards didn’t remove the sting of that defeat from Rourke.

“No, you want to play in that game (the Grey Cup),” the quarterback said. “Not to sound ungrateful or anything but I’d trade these for it in a heartbeat.

“You receive these with grace knowing it’s a reflection of not just your performance but the rest of your team and we have a great one. Hoping we can keep building.”

Saskatchewan faces the Montreal Alouettes in the Grey Cup on Sunday.

Rourke received 40 votes to become the eighth Lion and the first since linebacker Solomon Elimimian (2014) to capture the most-outstanding player award. Quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell of the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, the CFL passing leader (5,297 yards, a career-high 36 TDs) was the finalist for a second straight year.

Rourke earned 50 votes for top Canadian, an award he first won in 2022. His passing yards were a single-season record by a Canadian while the 10 rushing TDs were the most ever by a national quarterback.

Defensive lineman Isaac Adeyemi-Berglund of the Montreal Alouettes was the finalist.

Betts received 40 votes to become the first Canadian to win top defensive player twice — he also did so in 2023. The six-foot-two, 250-pound Montreal native posted a CFL-high 15 sacks with 42 tackles (two for a loss), four forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.

Betts becomes fourth Lion to win the award twice, joining Elimimian, Cameron Wake and James Parker. Hamilton defensive lineman Julian Howsare was the finalist.

“Regardless of first Canadian to win it twice, to win it one time I was really ecstatic,” Betts said. “To win it again, I’m not changing my speech.

“It’s a lot of hard work, people who believe in me. I have a chance to have a lot of solid people around me, a great team in B.C. It’s a good situation.”

The six-foot-four, 315-pound Hardrick earned 38 votes for his first top lineman award. The 35-year-old anchored a Saskatchewan line that helped quarterback Trevor Harris pass for 4,549 yards and A.J. Ouellette run for 1,222 yards as the Riders, with a CFL-best 12-6 record, finished atop the West Division for the first time since 2019.

Hamilton’s Brandon Revenberg was the finalist.

“It really doesn’t feel real,” said Hardrick, completing his 11th CFL season and third with Saskatchewan. “I’ve been in this league a while, seen some guys I looked up to chase this thing.

“I’m just happy, man, I didn’t do it alone … Let’s go get this one Sunday.”

Vaval, 25, became just the third CFL player to capture top rookie and special-teams honours in the same season.

The five-foot-11, 163-pound cornerback scored a league-high four return TDs and was its leader in punt-return yards (957) and missed field goal yards (391) while amassing 2,266 total return yards — averaging 133.3 per game — to finish third overall in all-purpose yards.

Vaval, who received 40 votes, added 21 tackles, four special-teams tackles and an interception. Toronto Argonauts kicker Lirim Hajrullahu was the finalist.

“Last year I wasn’t even on a team, I was just at home with my family working out and waiting for an opportunity,” Vaval said. “I just wanted to make the team and be part of the team just play football and do what I love.

“This wasn’t even something I looked forward to, you know?”

Vaval received 36 votes in becoming the eighth Winnipeg player to secure top rookie honours. Hamilton linebacker Devin Veresuk was the finalist.

This report by Dan Ralph, The Canadian Press, was first published Nov. 13, 2025.