University of Toronto Varsity Blues men's soccer defender Anthony White was chosen first overall by Vancouver FC in the 2023 CPL-U SPORTS draft on Thursday afternoon.
 
The kinesiology major from Port Moody, B.C., has played two seasons for the Varsity Blues, helping U of T to two consecutive post-season berths.
 
"Anthony is very deserving of this opportunity," said Varsity Blues head coach Ilya Orlov. "He is an intelligent and hard-working young man. He has been a standout player on the pitch in both his seasons with the Varsity Blues and had an excellent season in League1 BC, winning the championship with TSS Rovers this summer."
 
Prior to coming to U of T, White was one of 16 Canadian players selected for the Canadian generation Adidas team that trained with Real Madrid coaches at Real Madrid's facility and at the Spanish national team training centre in 2019.
 
He has also attended training sessions with FC Nurenberg in Germany (2018), DInamo Zagreb in Croatia (2016, 2017) and NK Sibenik in Croatia (2019). 

White becomes the second Varsity Blue to be drafted to the CPL after Marko Mandekic (2018 | Round 3 | 17th overall | Forge FC).
 
For more information, scores and highlights on your favourite U of T athletes and teams, please visit www.varsityblues.ca. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for the latest and greatest in Varsity Blues intercollegiate athletics.