The table is set for the 2023 East-West Bowl, and the York University Lions football team has four players selected for covered roster spots.
Evan Anseeuw, Nathan Brennan, Jason Janvier-Messier and Alfred Olay will join the East team, participating in a game that will showcase players who will be eligible for the following year’s CFL draft.
York’s group of athletes heading to the Bowl is headlined by Olay, who was an Ontario University Athletics (OUA) first-team all-star and a U SPORTS first-team all-Canadian in 2023. He was the first Lion to be named to the national first team since 2004. On special teams, Olay had a year to remember. The native of Courtice, Ont. was an elite special teams option, tallying 35 kickoff returns for 739 yards and 26 punt returns for 349 yards. Olay led his team in all-purpose yards with 1,377 and produced one of the highlight-reel plays of the entire OUA season when he returned a missed Carleton field goal 119 yards for a score in a matchup on Sept. 10, 2022.
This is the second straight year that the event has been at McMaster University (and the third time overall), and this year marks the 20th anniversary of the annual all-star contest, which was launched in 2003.
The two teams’ coaching staffs will be announced, along with any updates to the team rosters, on Friday, May 12.
The 2023 U SPORTS football prospects game (the East-West Bowl) is set for Saturday, May 13 at 1 p.m. ET at McMaster University’s Ron Joyce Field in Hamilton, Ont.