VICTORIA, B.C. – A week after being honoured by the Canada West, UBC Thunderbirds forward
Max Comsia has been honoured as the 2026 Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy winner as U SPORTS Men's Soccer Player of the Year.
Finishing the regular season as the conference's scoring leader, the third-year striker from North Vancouver led the Thunderbirds to the 2026 Canada West championship and a first place seed at this week's national championship tournament at Victoria's Centennial Stadium.
Also named an All-Canadian, Comsia is joined on the U SPORTS First Team by T-Birds captain
Eric Lajeunesse, now a four-time All-Canadian honouree.
Topping the conference with 15 points while producing career high numbers across the board, Comsia is UBC's first Player of the Year recipient since Sebastian Dzikowski did so in 2023.
A dominant force for the regular season champions all year, the North Vancouver native tied for the conference lead with nine goals, five of them standing as game winners.
Twice named conference Player of the Week this season, Comsia has positioned himself in elite territory in just his third Canada West season having earned first team All-Star status for a second straight year.
Adding a goal and an assist in UBC's postseason run that saw the team capture their 24
th conference banner, Comsia joins some elite company as the fifth Thunderbird to win the Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy, most recently done so by Sebastian Dzikowski in 2023.
Comsia and the T-Birds kickoff their bid for a program record 15
th national title Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Victoria when they battle the Guelph Gryphons in quarter-final action. The match is available live on CBC Sports' YouTube channel.
2026 U SPORTS Men's Soccer Award Winners
Player of the Year (Joe Johnson Memorial Trophy):
Max Comsia
Rookie of the Year (Lou Bilek Award): Aidan Nielsen (St. Francis Xavier)
Coach of the Year: Marc Mounicot (McGill)
Student-Athlete Community Service Award: Hagon Kim (UNBC)
2026 U SPORTS First Team All-Canadians
Max Comsia, UBC
Eric Lajeunesse, UBC
Yohann Hebert, Cape Breton
Yorgos Gavas, Dalhousie
Mouhamed Ndiaye, UQTR
Ulric Bélanger, Montreal
Ludovyck Ciociola, McGill
Christian Zeppieri, York
Niklas Hallam, Toronto
Ambrose Tinmouth, Guelph
Luc Ihama, TMU
2026 U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadians
Finn Marshall, Mount Royal
Fin Tugwell, Victoria
Evan Larson, Victoria
Callum Weir, Victoria
Nicolas Goldsztein, St. FX
Aidan Nielsen, St. FX
Jamie Nicholson, Cape Breton
Calin Calaidjoglu, Montreal
Montacer El-Harchali, Montreal
Nicholas Minchillo, McGill
Anthony Morano, York
2026 U SPORTS All-Rookie Team
Luis Rangel-Kataev, Calgary
Elijah Bean, Trinity Western
Cornel Safsaf, Lethbridge
Aidan Nielsen, St. FX
Ayouba Kamara, St. FX
Amare Valente-Boateng, Saint Mary's
Nicholas Minchillo, McGill
Samuel Remillier-Longueville, Laval
Mathis Morin, UQTR
Ivan Nechyporuk, TMU
Leart Nura, Brock
Rome Fabriele, Waterloo
