University of Toronto Varsity Blues women's hockey captain Kaitlyn McKnight captured bronze with Team Canada at the 2026 World Women's Ball Hockey Championships in Czechia.

Canada fell 6-4 in their opener versus the host Czechia before bouncing back with a 9-1 win over Slovakia. Canada then went to overtime with the eventual gold medalist USA, falling 3-2. They would end round-robin matches with a 14-0 shutout of Great Britain and 11-1 victory over Switzerland, setting up a semifinal showdown with the USA yet again. Another 3-2 defeat would knock Canada into the bronze medal match where they earned the third step on the podium with a 7-1 win over Slovakia.

McKnight was a key catalyst for the Canadian offence which led the entire tournament in goals scored. McKnight herself would finish second in scoring and first in assists at the tournament registering five goals and 11 assists across the seven total matches played. She would be one of six players named to the tournament all-star team.

McKnight has donned the T-Leaf across four seasons from 2022 to 2026. The high-motor forward has appeared in 107 regular season games with the Varsity Blues in that time, tallying 30 goals and 58 assists. She helped U of T claim two McCaw Cup championships (2023, 2025), along with U SPORTS bronze in 2025 and U SPORTS silver in 2024. McKnight received the OUA True Sport Award this past season and was named an OUA all-rookie in her debut campaign.