VANCOUVER – As UBC Football alumnus Ryan Baker hits the field with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to open up the 2026 CFL season Thursday night, it marks the official start of what's going to be an impactful campaign for former blue and gold athletes across the country.
11 total Thunderbird alumni find themselves on opening day rosters with another three recently added to CFL practice rosters with no other U SPORTS program to boast more in the professional ranks.
"We like to think of our program as one of the top options available for young men who want to get to the next level and at the same time still have a high focus towards academics and a high focus towards your path after football," said UBC head coach, Blake Nill, who himself spent four years playing in the CFL. "It's a big deal to look a kid in the face and say that we know how to get you to the next level. We need to continue to showcase the talent and have results like we do this year."
Entering his third professional season with the Ti-Cats, former UBC linebacker Baker along with fellow T-Bird alumnus Stavros Katsantonis form a key part of the Hamilton defence. The Tiger-Cats have a total of four former Thunderbirds in their system along with defensive back
Ronan Horrall who is currently on the team's practice roster, as well as injured offensive lineman
Arvin Hosseini.
The Edmonton Elks hold the most T-Birds on their roster with running back Isaiah Knight, fullback Skyler Griffith and long snapper Luke Burton-Krahn while fullback Brad Hladik has been placed on the practice roster with receiver Benjamin Sangmuah currently on the six-game injured list.
Two T-Bird offensive lineman are wearing the double blue in Toronto in rookie Gavin Coakes and veteran Dakoda Shepley while the BC Lions feature Ben Hladik – back for his sixth season on the west coast – as well as recently drafted fellow linebacker Chase Henning.
Grey Cup champion defensive lineman Lake Korte-Moore is back with the Saskatchewan Roughriders, expected to return to action soon while starting the season on the injured list.
Having this many former players plying their trade at the highest level in Canadian football is naturally a tremendous source of pride for the entire Thunderbirds program.
"It's part of our culture and I think it exemplifies the excellence that we strive for," said Nill who will enter his 12th season at UBC this fall. "It starts with bringing in athletes and most of that credit goes to coach Shomari Williams who identifies and starts the process. It's about the assistant coaches who develop the skill sets, the technical skills. When a young man becomes a good pass rusher or a receiver, a lot of the credit has to go to the individual positional coaches. Absolutely it's a feather in the cap of our head strength and conditioning coach, Joe McCullum, who gets them physically ready to compete against the best. When we bring in talent, anyone, whether it's corporate sponsors, parents, alumni, we try to showcase a brand of excellence and I think this is an example of that."
In addition to the 14 total former T-Birds within the CFL system as the new season gets underway, three of Nill's former players from his time at the University of Calgary are also continuing their professional careers in veteran linebackers Adam Konar (BC), Micah Teitz (Calgary) and offensive lineman Sean McEwen (Ottawa).
Former UBC Football lead Athletic Therapist, Mel Rogers, is also representing the blue and gold, now on the therapy staff of the Ottawa RedBlacks.
The T-Birds will open up their 2026 Canada West campaign in Calgary on September 4 with the team's home opener slated for Friday, September 11 against the Alberta Golden Bears.
