March 4, 2026

Brock’s Madalyn Weinert named U SPORTS women’s basketball Player of the Year

Madalyn Weinert, a fifth-year guard/forward with the Brock Badgers, has been named the winner of the Nan Copp Award as the 2026 U SPORTS women's basketball Player of the Year. The announcement was made Wednesday night at the All-Canadian Gala in Quebec City, host of the 2026 Sunlife U SPORTS Women's Basketball Final 8 Presented by Michelob and Hilton Québec.

Western guard Sydney Cowan captured the Kathy Shields Award as Rookie of the Year, while McGill forward Emilia Diaz-Ruiz earned the Sylvia Sweeney Award for Student-Athlete Community Service. Calgary guard Amélie Collin is the Defensive Player of the Year, while Queen's guard Bella Gaudet is the winner of the Tracy MacLeod Award for her courage in overcoming adversity. Finally, Saskatchewan bench boss Lisa Thomaidis earned the Peter Ennis Award as Fox 40 Coach of the Year.

The 2026 Sunlife U SPORTS Women's Basketball Final 8 Presented by Michelob and Hilton Québec tips off Thursday at Amphithéâtre Desjardins-Université Laval and concludes Sunday with the gold medal game at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT. Tickets for all 11 games can be purchased at usportstickets.ca and the entire championship will be webcast live on CBC digital platforms in English and Radio-Canada's digital platforms in French.

NAN COPP AWARD (Player of the Year): Madalyn Weinert, Brock

Madeline Weinert has been an impressive force this season, capping off her incredible career for Brock by becoming the Badgers' first-ever national Player of the Year, after collecting the conference's top honour for three years in a row.

The St. Catharines, Ont., local has been all over the national leaderboards this year in many categories. She led in points per game (24.1), overall points (530), and field goals made (196). Also producing on the defensive side of the ball, Weinert led with 14.4 rebounds per game. It was an impressive year on the stat sheet for the medical sciences student.

Off the court, Weinert was named a U SPORTS Top 8 Academic All-Canadian for the 2024-25 season and won Brock's David Atkinson Surgite Award last year, awarded annually to a student-athlete who excels both academically and athletically.

Her impact on the Brock Badgers is written in the history books as she holds many program records, including most points, points per game, most rebounds, rebounds per game, most field goals, most field goals per game, most free throws, and most free throws per game.

Other nominees: Gage Grassick (Saskatchewan), Serena Tchida (Concordia), Samantha Russell (Acadia)

KATHY SHIELDS AWARD (Rookie of the Year): Sydney Cowan, Western

Sydney Cowan, a London, Ont., local playing for her hometown Mustangs, wasted no time in her foray onto the U SPORTS stage and immediately produced a breakout season. She started in all but one of Western's 22 conference contests, while averaging 16.3 points per game - good for ninth overall in the OUA and 16^th nationally - and 358 points scored in total, which was eighth-most in the country.

It was a rookie season to remember for Cowan, as she had the ball in many clutch situations for the purple and white, including draining the last-second three to defeat the defending OUA champion Ottawa Gee-Gees in the regular season.

Cowan becomes the second Mustang to take home the Rookie of the Year nod in program history, following Amanda Anderson in 2006.

Other nominees: Avery Geddes (Victoria), Jeannette Umuhoza (Concordia), Cairo Henning (Dalhousie)

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Amélie Collin, Calgary

It was a record-breaking senior season in every sense of the expression for Dinos' fifth-year guard Amélie Collin. The Rimouski, Que., product, who has been a starter from day one on the UCalgary campus, reset a handful of program and Canada West records while leading the Dinos to yet another outstanding season on the court.

The 5-foot-9 guard broke the program record for career steals (259) in the first half of the season before taking down both the Canada West records for career steals (previously 308, Collin graduates with 322) and steals in a single season (98). Collin also finished tied in leading the team in scoring this season with 12.1 points per game, while also leading the entire conference and ranking sixth nationally in three-point shooting – connecting at a 39.3 per cent clip.

Collin is the first Dino to capture Defensive Player of the Year honours.

Other nominees: Hailey Franco DeRyck (Toronto Metropolitan), Eve Atchampone (Bishop's), Shannon Neita (StFX)

SYLVIA SWEENEY AWARD (Student-Athlete Community Service): Emilia Diaz-Ruiz, McGill

Emilia Diaz-Ruiz of the RSEQ champion McGill Martlets received the Sylvia Sweeney Award, presented to reward excellence in the student-athlete. She becomes the first McGill player to receive the honour since it was initiated in 1994, which is rather fitting given that Sweeney once played for the Martlets.

Diaz-Ruiz, a 19-year-old native of Hamilton, Ont., merited second-team all-star status in the Quebec conference. The six-foot forward was McGill's second-leading scorer and top rebounder this season, averaging 11.1 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. A consistent double-double threat, she recorded four on the year, including two against division-leading Laval. In a game against UQAM, Diaz-Ruiz scored 10 points and collected 18 rebounds, becoming only the fourth player in program history to grab 18 or more boards in a single contest — five shy of the school record of 23 set by Sweeney in 1974.

A chemical engineering sophomore, Diaz-Ruiz posted a 3.82 grade-point average (out of 4.0) in her freshman year to qualify for Academic All-Canadian status and the President's Student-Athlete Honour Roll. In January 2026, she received the Prof. Dorothy Nichol Award, presented annually to a McGill student-athlete who combines academic achievement with contributions to extracurricular activities.

She has earned multiple academic scholarships, including the Richard Herzer Entrance Award in chemical engineering, the Frank A. Sherman Memorial Scholarship for top academic standing, a Faculty of Engineering Award for ranking in the top 15 per cent of her class and the Dr. Sean Pierre African Caribbean Award, which recognizes academic success and community leadership.

Off the court, Diaz-Ruiz has served on several campus committees, including the National Society of Black Engineers, the Chemical Engineering Students' Society, the McGill Athletics Black Heritage Month campaign and the McGill Athletes in Business Society. In those roles, she has helped coordinate events, connect with sponsors, engage students through outreach initiatives and support academic development opportunities.

Other nominees: Natalie Allison (Victoria), Amy Hagman (Queen's), Melina Collins (Dalhousie)

TRACY MACLEOD AWARD (Courage Overcoming Adversity): Bella Gaudet, Queen's

Bella Gaudet has shaped how the Queen's Gaels view resiliency.

She suited up for the first time in Tricolour during her third season, after her first year was cancelled due to the pandemic and she spent her second year rehabbing her plantar fascia, an injury she suffered during her first practice.

After helping the Gaels secure OUA and U SPORTS silver medals and garnering an OUA All-Rookie nod, Gaudet was once again dealing with an injury, this time from chronic pain in her shooting elbow. This required surgical intervention and many months of rehabbing to get back to competition once again.

Coming back from that, she earned herself a permanent spot in the Gaels' startling lineup, capturing another conference silver and fourth place finish at nationals.

Her fifth season in 2024-25 started out hot, as she averaged nearly 17 points and shot 50 per cent from deep on eight attempts per game, while also taking on the most challenging defensive assignments. In cruel fashion, her season ended just a few games in with an ACL tear, partial MCL and lateral meniscus tears, and a bone contusion. Despite a successful surgery, she faced further complications and setbacks, but resilience shone through once again and she returned before the 2025-26 preseason.

Back in full form, the Ottawa, Ont., product has once again emerged as one of the most consistent and accurate long-range shooters in the country. She has started in all of the first-place Gaels' games and drained a Queen's single-season record 62 threes while averaging 10.9 points per game. The long-serving captain has led the Gaels on and off the court, showing her teammates that resiliency is the long hours of practice, not a game winning three.

Gaudet is the second Gael to take home the award, after Ally Smith last season.

Other nominees: Esther Allison (Fraser Valley), Marianne Boithias (Bishop's), Kristen Taylor (Cape Breton)

PETER ENNIS AWARD (Fox 40 Coach of the Year): Lisa Thomaidis, Saskatchewan

For the fourth time in her remarkable career, Lisa Thomaidis has been recognized as the U SPORTS Coach of the Year. Now in her 27^th season as head coach of the Huskies, she also took home the award in 2009, 2011 and 2024, and is the only Saskatchewan coach to earn the honour.

Thomaidis' Huskies were unstoppable this season, literally, recording a 20-0 regular season record for the first perfect season under the accomplished head coach. It also marked just the 17^th perfect season in the Canada West conference and first since the Regina Cougars went undefeated in 2011-12.

Thanks to the perfection in conference play, the Dogs also built an incredible 52-game winning streak, the fourth-longest in the history of Canadian university women's basketball.

Opening the season as the No. 1-ranked team in U SPORTS, the Huskies held that streak for an impressive 12 weeks, tying their longest streak as the top team in the nation.

Other nominees: Claire Meadows (Queen's), Rikki Bowles (McGill), Erin McAleenan (UNB)

2026 U SPORTS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL AWARD WINNERS & ALL-CANADIANS

Nan Copp Award (Player of the Year): Madalyn Weinert, Brock
Kathy Shields Award (Rookie of the Year): Sydney Cowan, Western
Defensive Player of the year: Amélie Collin, Calgary
Sylvia Sweeney Award (Student-Athlete Community Service): Emilia Diaz-Ruiz, McGill
Tracy MacLeod Award (Courage Overcoming Adversity): Bella Gaudet, Queen`s
Peter Ennis Award (Fox 40 Coach of the Year): Lisa Thomaidis, Saskatchewan

First Team All-Canadians

Pos.	First Name	Last Name	University	Year	Hometown	Program
G/F	Madalyn	Weinert	Brock	5	St. Catharines, Ont.	Medical Sciences
G	Myriam	Kone	TMU	4	Edmonton, Alta.	Psychology
F	Samantha	Russell	Acadia	5	Dartmouth, N.S.	Finance
C	Serena	Tchida	Concordia	5	Montreal, Que.	Web Design
G	Gage	Grassick	Saskatchewan	5	Prince Albert, Sask.	Pharmacy

Second Team All-Canadians

Pos.	First Name	Last Name	University	Year	Hometown	Program
F	Katie	Butts	UNB	5	Ottawa, Ont.	Arts
F	Kiyara	Letlow	Queen's	5	Toronto, Ont.	Kinesiology
G	Kyana-Jade	Poulin	Carleton	4	Montreal, Que.	Applied Linguistics
G	Olivia	Weekes	UBC	5	Winnipeg, Man.	Arts
G	Cara	Misskey	Regina	5	Warman, Sask.	Graduate Studies & Research

All-Rookie Team

Pos.	First Name	Last Name	School	Hometown	Program
G	Cairo	Henning	Dalhousie	Montreal, Que.	Commerce
G	Ingrid	Khuong	UPEI	Quebec City, Que.	Sustainable Design Engineering
G	Sydney	Cowan	Western	London, Ont.	Kinesiology
F	Tayler	Scott	McMaster	Burlington, Ont.	Humanities
G	Avery	Geddes	Victoria	Victoria, B.C.	Science