Gage Grassick, a basketball player from the University of Saskatchewan, and Taylor Elgersma, a football player from Wilfrid Laurier University, are the Lois and Doug Mitchell Award winners as the U SPORTS Athletes of the Year across all sports for the 2024-25 season. The winners were announced Monday night in Blue Mountains, Ontario as the awards program celebrated its 32nd edition, dating back to the launch of the Howard Mackie Awards in 1993.
All eight nominees – one female and male athlete from each of the four U SPORTS conferences – received a commemorative gold ring from Baron, the exclusive supplier of commemorative jewellery for U SPORTS. Grassick and Elgersma were also presented with a trophy and a $5,000 scholarship to attend a Canadian university graduate school.
The winners were selected by the Canadian Athletic Foundation, a not-for-profit board established to administer the Awards and protect the integrity of the selection process.
“We are so proud of the eight nominees this year. They are exceptional student-athletes and citizens,” said The Hon. Lois Mitchell, chair of the Canadian Athletic Foundation Board of Trustees. “Gage and Taylor had outstanding seasons, demonstrating their adaptability to any condition they have faced on the field of competition and in the classroom. They are excellent recipients of the Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards.”
“On behalf of U SPORTS, congratulations to Gage and Taylor on winning the Lois and Doug Mitchell Awards,” said Pierre Arsenault, U SPORTS CEO. “We had an exceptional group of nominees this year, with many national champions and athlete-of-the-year winners in their sports. To be recognized like this is a wonderful accomplishment for Gage and Taylor.”
Grassic, who hails from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and just completed her fourth year of eligibility, took home the Lois Mitchell Trophy, presented annually to the female winner, and is the second Saskatchewan Huskie to win national athlete of the year honours, following men’s volleyball player Adam Ens in 2004. She is the third basketball player in the past four years to take home the national award.
Elgersma, who completed his fourth year of eligibility, returns home with the Doug Mitchell Trophy. The London, Ontario, product is the second Laurier athlete to win in the men’s sport category, following Bill Kubas, also a quarterback, in 1995. Elgersma is the third football player to win the award since the program resumed in 2021.
The other female sport finalists were Cape Breton soccer player Alliyah Rowe of Kitchener, Ont.; Laval runner Marie-Frédérique Poulin of La Pocatière, Que.; and Western runner Favour Okpali of Toronto, Ont.
The other male nominees were STFX basketballer DJ Jackson of Mississauga, Ont.; Laval runner Philippe Morneau-Cartier of Quebec City and Calgary basketball Nate Petrone.
Gage Grassick, Saskatchewan
Basketball (guard)
Prince Albert, Sask.
Fourth year
Pharmacy
A pharmacy student from Prince Albert, Sask., Grassic won the Nan Copp Trophy in March as the 2024-25 U SPORTS women’s basketball player on the year. The fourth-year guard from Prince Albert, Sask. rewrote the program record books while leading Saskatchewan to both Canada West and U SPORTS championships.
Grassick became just the third Saskatchewan Huskie to win the Nan Copp Trophy as the nation’s top player and was also named a first-team All-Canadian. Her regular season was exceptional, setting program records for single-season assists and triple-doubles, while also leading the nation in both three-point field goals made and three-point shooting percentage.
When the lights were brightest, Grassick elevated her game. She delivered a jaw-dropping 31-point performance in the Canada West final against UBC, adding seven assists and two steals to help the Huskies claim their 10th conference title.
At the U SPORTS Final 8, she averaged 20.7 points per game and secured Tournament MVP honours with a 35-point outburst in the national championship final—leading Saskatchewan to its third national title with a commanding 85–66 win over defending champion Carleton.
Capping her season, Grassick was also awarded USask’s Mary Ethel Cartwright Trophy as the Most Outstanding Female Athlete.
Taylor Elgersma, Laurier
Football (quarterback)
London, Ont.
Fourth year
Kinesiology and Physical Education
A kinesiology and physical education major from London, Ontario, Elgersma won the Hec Crighton Trophy as the most outstanding player in U SPORTS football, while leading the Golden Hawks to their first first undefeated season in 19 years, an OUA championship, and a win in the Uteck Bowl giving Laurier their first Vanier Cup berth since 2005.
Elgersma led U SPORTS in passing yards (3,554), passing yards per game (323.1), and passing touchdowns (28) this season, having the fourth-most rushing TDs by a quarterback in the nation with seven. Elgersma threw for over 400 yards in a game on three separate occasions, including a career and OUA best of 464 against Carleton in the team’s final regular season game. He passed for three or more TDs in four games, including five against Queen’s. He was named a 2024 first-team U SPORTS All-Canadian, the Yates Cup MVP and Uteck Bowl Offensive MVP.
In the offseason, Elgersma became the first U SPORTS quarterback, and only the second player ever, to be invited to the Reese’s Senior Bowl. Elgersma was drafted 18th overall in the CFL Draft by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and signed with the Green Bay Packers of the NFL as an undrafted free agent.
Capping his season, Elgersma won the President’s Award as the Laurier athlete of the year in male sports.