Canadian Premier League Coach of the Year
| Sport | Soccer |
|---|---|
| League | Canadian Premier League |
| Country | Canada |
| History | |
| First award | 2019 |
| First winner | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. |
| Most wins | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. Bobby Smyrniotis (2) |
| Most recent | Bobby Smyrniotis (2025) |
| Website | canpl |
The Canadian Premier League Coach of the Year award has been awarded since the inaugural 2019 season to a Canadian Premier League head coach. The award is given to the coach who receives the most votes from each head coach and one assistant coach from all the participating teams. It is awarded annually at the Canadian Premier League Awards ceremony.
Initially the award was based on the entire Canadian Premier League season, including playoffs and finals.[1] In 2022, a change was made to all CPL awards so that they are only judged based on results from the regular season.[2] Tommy Wheeldon Jr., the current head coach of Cavalry FC, has won the most awards, with two titles. The only coach who won the award, while also winning the Canadian Premier League championship is Pa-Modou Kah, who led Pacific FC to their first league championship in 2021.
Winners by year
| Season | Coach | Nationality | Club | Regular season | Playoffs | Ref | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Record | Pts | Place | Starting round | Result | |||||
| 2019 | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. | ENG | Cavalry | 19–5–4 | 62 | 1st | Finals | Runner-up | [3] |
| 2020 | Stephen Hart | TRI | HFX Wanderers | Regular season not played[a] | Final | Runner-up | [4] | ||
| 2021 | Pa-Modou Kah | NOR | Pacific | 13–6–9 | 45 | 3rd | Semifinals | Champions | |
| 2022 | Carlos González | ESP | Atlético Ottawa | 13–10–5 | 49 | 1st | Semifinals | Runner-up | [5] |
| 2023 | Tommy Wheeldon Jr. (2) | ENG | Cavalry | 16–7–5 | 55 | 1st | First semifinal | Runner-up | [6] |
| 2024 | Bobby Smyrniotis | CAN | Forge | 15–5–8 | 50 | 1st | First semifinal | Runner-up | |
| 2025 | Bobby Smyrniotis (2) | CAN | Forge | 16–10–2 | 58 | 1st | First semifinal | Semifinals | |
- ^ 3–3–1 (12 pts) in first stage. 1–1–1 (4 pts) in group stage.
Records
| Coach | Titles | Finalist | Years won | Years finalist |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Smyrniotis | 2 | 5 | 2024, 2025 | 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 |
| Tommy Wheeldon Jr. | 2 | 2 | 2019, 2023 | 2021, 2024 |
| Carlos González | 1 | 0 | 2022 | – |
| Stephen Hart | 1 | 0 | 2020 | – |
| Pa-Modou Kah | 1 | 0 | 2021 | – |
| Jim Brennan | 0 | 1 | – | 2019 |
| Mauro Eustáquio | 0 | 1 | – | 2025 |
| Patrice Gheisar | 0 | 1 | – | 2023 |
| Diego Mejía | 0 | 1 | – | 2025 |
| James Merriman | 0 | 1 | – | 2022 |
| Mista | 0 | 1 | – | 2020 |
| Benjamín Mora | 0 | 1 | – | 2024 |
References
- ^ Thompson, Marty (November 1, 2019). "Canadian Premier League officially unveils 2019 individual awards". Canadian Premier League. Retrieved November 1, 2019.
- ^ "CPL announces new awards, 2022 voting procedures". Canadian Premier League. September 28, 2022. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
Voting for all seven of the CPL's annual awards will this year be based on performances during the regular season, not including Canadian Championship, Concacaf or playoff action
- ^ "Canadian Premier League announces 2019 Award winners". Canadian Premier League. November 26, 2019. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ "Canadian Premier League announces 2020 Award winners". Canadian Premier League. November 26, 2020. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Jacques, John (October 29, 2022). "2022 CPL Awards Roundup". Northern Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2024.
- ^ Jacques, John (October 27, 2023). "2023 CPL Awards Round Up: Cavalry Dominates The Show". Northern Tribune. Retrieved January 30, 2024.