The Top Five OUA MVP Candidates Right Now
We’re far enough into the OUA football season that the MVP conversation can officially begin.
And right now, quarterbacks own it.
There are undefeated teams, surprise contenders, historic starts and a couple of players putting themselves on pace to rewrite their program record books. But there’s also plenty of football left — and for each name on this list, the next month will matter just as much as the first.
Here are the four players who have separated themselves in the OUA MVP race so far, plus one quarterback knocking on the door.
Josh Janssen — QB, Ottawa
Record: 3–1
2026 Stats
1,297 passing yards
324.3 passing yards per game
10 passing TDs
2 INTs
70.1% completion rate
This is the best season we’ve seen from an Ottawa quarterback since Derek Wendel won OUA MVP in 2016.
That’s not a comparison we make lightly.
Wendel finished that season with 2,936 passing yards and 22 touchdowns while leading the conference in passing yards, completion percentage, yards per game and touchdowns. Janssen isn’t currently on pace to match all of those numbers, but he has established himself as one of the premier passers in the country. Through four games, he sits at 1,297 yards after throwing for another 321 yards and three touchdowns against Guelph.
And perhaps the most impressive part? Ottawa hasn’t needed to abandon the running game to create those numbers.
Souleymane Camara has given the Gee-Gees a legitimate rushing threat alongside Janssen, meaning defences aren't simply watching Ottawa throw the ball 50 times every Saturday. Before the Guelph game, Camara was leading the OUA in rushing while Janssen was leading it in passing. That’s a pretty ridiculous combination to defend.
There is, however, a question Janssen still has to answer: what happens against the OUA’s best?
Ottawa started 3–0 before suffering its first loss of the season, 31–28, against Guelph. Janssen still threw for 321 yards and three touchdowns, but his late interception at the Guelph two-yard line ended the Gee-Gees’ comeback attempt.
That doesn’t erase his MVP case. Not even close.
But as Ottawa moves into the second half of its schedule, the biggest games will have an outsized influence on this race. If Janssen continues producing against the conference’s top contenders, his numbers are going to be very difficult to ignore.
For now, even coming off Ottawa’s first loss, things are looking pretty good for the Gee-Gees’ QB1.
Kareame Cotton — QB, Windsor
Record: 2–2
2026 Stats
1,031 passing yards
12 passing TDs
2 INTs
257.8 passing yards per game
218 rushing yards
1 rushing TD
Windsor finally has a quarterback — and apparently he’s an MVP candidate now.
Cotton’s transition from receiver to starting quarterback has produced one of the best stories in the conference. Through four games, nobody in the OUA — or U SPORTS — has thrown more touchdown passes. After throwing four against Western and another four against Waterloo, Cotton sits at 12 passing touchdowns on the season.
Now things get interesting.
The Windsor single-season benchmark is Austin Kennedy’s 20 touchdown passes from 2011. Cotton already has 12 through four games. Keep this pace and one of the most significant quarterback records in Lancers history is legitimately in play.
More importantly, Windsor finally has the offensive production to complement the type of roster it has built over the last several seasons.
This has been a program with championship-calibre defensive talent and dangerous offensive weapons, but quarterback consistency has often been the missing ingredient. Cotton has changed that conversation almost immediately.
The problem for his MVP case is Windsor’s record.
The Lancers are 2–2 after already running into McMaster and Western, and history suggests it becomes much harder to win this award when your team starts accumulating losses. The notable modern exception is Tre Ford, who won OUA MVP — and eventually the Hec Crighton — during Waterloo’s six-game 2021 season while putting up 1,465 passing yards and another 629 on the ground.
So Cotton probably doesn’t have much room left.
If Windsor can put together a run over the second half of the season — particularly with games against Queen’s and Guelph still looming — and Cotton keeps putting up numbers like these, his case becomes fascinating.
And strangely enough, for all of Windsor’s success during its recent resurgence, the Lancers haven’t really had an offensive player become a central figure in the OUA MVP conversation.
Cotton might finally be that guy.
Alex Vreeken — QB, Queen’s
Record: 3–0
2026 Stats
1,126 passing yards
375.3 passing yards per game
8 passing TDs
0 INTs
69.6% completion rate
Maybe it’s time we start talking about Alex Vreeken differently.
For basically his entire Queen’s career, he’s been one of the most consistent quarterbacks in the OUA. Yet when conversations about the conference’s best individual players came around, his name rarely seemed to be near the front.
Part of that is what happens when you play for Queen’s.
The Gaels have consistently fielded strong defences, physical running games and complete rosters, which can make it easy to treat the quarterback as just another piece of the machine.
But let’s be clear: Vreeken is not simply along for the ride.
Through three games, he has thrown for 1,126 yards and eight touchdowns without throwing a single interception. His 375.3 passing yards per game leads this group, and he’s completing nearly 70% of his passes. Queen’s as a team is averaging a ridiculous 580.3 yards of offence per game.
His 424-yard performance against Waterloo showed exactly what this offence can become when Queen’s opens things up through the air. One week later, he threw four touchdowns against Carleton.
So let’s simplify this.
He’s one of the premier passers in the OUA.
He hasn’t thrown an interception.
And his team is undefeated.
What else do you need to enter someone into an MVP conversation?
Vreeken has spent years being viewed as the quarterback of a really good Queen’s team.
Maybe 2026 is when we start viewing Queen’s as a really good team led by an MVP-calibre quarterback.
Jérôme Rancourt — QB, Western
Record: 3–0
2026 Stats
9 passing TDs
1 INT
73.5% completion rate
117 rushing yards
3 rushing TDs
Of course there’s a Western player on the list.
At this point, we’re pretty sure it’s required by law.
But Rancourt absolutely belongs here.
Western entered the season with questions at quarterback after Evan Hillock’s departure and with Michael Faulds beginning his first season as head coach. Three games later, quarterback might be one of the positions we have the fewest questions about.
Rancourt takes care of the football. He makes the right read. He can drive the ball downfield. And at 6-foot-5, 258 pounds, tackling him in the open field is about as enjoyable as it sounds.
He has also been absurdly efficient.
Rancourt opened the year by completing 24 of 28 passes against York while accounting for five total touchdowns. Against Windsor — Western’s first serious test — he threw three more touchdown passes. Then he went 19-of-23 for 295 yards and four touchdowns in a 61–3 demolition of Toronto.
Now, context matters.
Two of Western’s three victories have come against York and Toronto. And Windsor showed that the Mustangs are not invincible, taking a lead into halftime before Western eventually escaped with a 44–37 win.
But that might actually be part of the argument for Rancourt.
Western wasn’t perfect that afternoon. Rancourt still helped them find a way out.
He has been around this offence for years, even contributing 12 rushing touchdowns last season while operating in different packages behind Hillock. Now the offence belongs to him, and Western hasn’t lost.
If the Mustangs keep winning and Rancourt continues producing at this level, his MVP case will only become stronger.
He’s no Chris Merchant.
He doesn’t need to be.
He just needs to keep doing exactly what he’s doing.
On the Brink
Tristan Aboud — QB, Guelph
Record: 2–2
2026 Stats
1,034 passing yards
9 passing TDs
2 INTs
Do not bury the Guelph Gryphons just yet.
Two weeks ago, Guelph was 0–2 and one of the biggest disappointments in the conference.
Now?
They’re 2–2, they just handed Ottawa its first loss of the season, and Tristan Aboud is playing his way directly back into this conversation.
Over Guelph’s last two games, Aboud has thrown for 588 yards and six touchdowns without an interception. He torched Carleton for 341 yards and four majors in a 60–15 win, then helped the Gryphons walk into Ottawa and knock off the previously undefeated Gee-Gees.
Suddenly, the season looks very different.
Guelph still has work to do. Waterloo has already proven it can make teams uncomfortable, and the back end of the Gryphons’ schedule includes Queen’s and Windsor.
But that also gives Aboud exactly what he needs: opportunity.
Keep winning, keep protecting the football and keep producing over the next month, and Aboud won’t stay in the “on the brink” category for long.
Depending on what happens with Western, Ottawa, Windsor and Queen’s, he could play himself directly into the centre of this race.
Four weeks down.
A lot of football left.
And absolutely nothing about the OUA MVP race feels settled.
