{ "title": "VAVAL CLAIMS SECOND STRAIGHT MOST OUTSTANDING SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER", "modified_at": "2026-10-29 13:27:42", "published_at": "2026-10-29 13:30:00", "url": "https://press.cfl.ca/vaval-claims-second-straight-most-outstanding-special-teams-player", "short_url": "http://prez.ly/Cxoe", "culture": "en", "language": "EN", "subtitle": "Winnipeg returner becomes the award\u2019s first-ever back-to-back recipient ", "slug": "vaval-claims-second-straight-most-outstanding-special-teams-player", "body": "\n \n
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TORONTO (October 29, 2026) – Winnipeg returner Trey Vaval is the Canadian Football League’s (CFL) Most Outstanding Special Teams Player. The Blue Springs, Mo., native is the first-ever back-to-back winner of the award and the sixth time a Blue Bomber to receive the honour. He joins Corey Holmes (2002, 2005) as the only players to capture the trophy on more than one occasion.

In his sophomore campaign, Vaval led the league with 2,868 total kick return yards, while averaging returns of 13.8 yards per punt and 24.2 yards per kickoff. He notched two return majors on an 88-yard kickoff return and a 129-yard missed field goal return. The Minnesota State University, Mankato, product finished with 13 big-play returns. In addition to his two Most Outstanding Special Teams Player awards, Vaval was the 2025 Most Outstanding Rookie.

Vaval received the news at the end of practice, where his teammates had a special surprise waiting for him. The moment is part of the CFL’s refreshed approach to recognizing award winners in lieu of a traditional awards ceremony, offering fans a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse into the people and stories behind the statistics and accomplishments.

As part of a revamped awards process, every player who received a vote for team awards advanced to the final ballot for the corresponding CFL Award. The finalists were voted on by the same pool of local members of the Football Reporters of Canada (FRC) who determined team award winners, as well as national members of the FRC. In total, 52 votes were counted. Complete ballots can be downloaded below.

2026 MOST OUTSTANDING SPECIAL TEAM PLAYER – COMPLETE RESULTS
\u200b(Name | 1st-2nd-3rd votes | Total points of a max 260)

  1. Trey Vaval (WPG) | 17-15-3 | 133 points
  2. Vincent Blanchard (EDM) | 13-6-11 | 94
  3. Tyreik McAllister (CGY) | 8-7-16 | 77
  4. Janarion Grant (TOR) | 6-9-6 | 63
  5. Kalil Pimpleton (OTT) | 4-7-3 | 44
  6. Jesulayomi Ojutalayo (CGY) | 1-3-4 | 18
  7. Sergio Castillo (WPG) | 1-1-0 | 8
  8. Kelon Thomas (CGY) | 1-1-0 | 8
  9. José Maltos Díaz (MTL) | 0-1-4 | 7
  10. Gordon Whyte (HAM) | 1-0-0 | 5
  11. Jake Julien (EDM) | 0-1-1 | 4
  12. Derek Slywka (TOR) | 0-1-1 | 4
  13. Sean Whyte (BC) | 0-0-2 | 2
  14. Brett Lauther (SSK) | 0-0-1 | 1
\n \n \n \n \n \n \n 2026 Most Outstanding Special Teams Player Ballots\n 2026 Most Outstanding Special Teams Player Ballots.pdf - 110 KB\n \n
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\n Lucas Barrett\n Associate Vice-President, Communications & Public Affairs, Canadian Football League\n \n
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