OTTAWA (May 1, 2024) - A pair of Carleton Ravens were selected in the 2024 CFL Draft on Tuesday night. It was a special night for linemen as Ifenna Onyeka (DL) and Patrick Lavoie (OL) each heard their names called in the draft.
Selected by the Argonauts with the 45th pick, Onyeka becomes the fifth member of his family to earn the call to the CFL. Ifenna becomes the highest defensive lineman selected in the draft since his cousin Kene Onyeka was selected 29th overall by the Redblacks in 2018.
On the offensive side, Ravens leader Patrick Lavoie becomes the tenth Ravens player to be selected by the Edmonton Elks franchise. Selected 63rd overall, Lavoie is the first Ravens offensive lineman in the draft since Jesse Lawson went to Saskatchewan in 2020 with the 62nd pick.
Onyeka and Lavoie weren't the only Ravens to hear their name called on draft night as Saskatchewan selected Arkansas State linebacker Melique Straker 32nd overall. Straker spent the 2019 season with Carleton before the COVID-19 pandemic forced him to look for other opportunities closer to home.
Montreal selected former Junior Ravens football program member Arthur Hamlin of Colgate University 29th overall. Hamlin's brother Nate, a former Raven, was selected in the 2017 draft and played three seasons with BC and Edmonton.
The draft also marks the first time offensive and defensive linemen have been selected in the same year since 2018 when KC Bakker (27th, Montreal) and Kene Onyeka (29th, Ottawa) were selected.
To date, 19 members of the Carleton Ravens have been drafted since the program returned to play. Nate Behar (5th, 2017) remains the highest pick of the modern era.
