Michigan State University Athletics
Malcolm Bell was selected in the first round of the 2026 CFL Canadian Draft on Tuesday night.
Two Spartans Selected in CFL Canadian Draft
4/29/2026 12:58:00 PM | Football
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Two Michigan State Spartans from the 2025 team were selected in the 2026 CFL Canadian Draft, which was held Tuesday night in Toronto.
Cornerback Malcolm Bell from Montreal was chosen in the first round with the ninth overall pick by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, while defensive back Devynn Cromwell from Toronto was selected by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the third round (No. 25 overall). Bell and Cromwell both transferred to Michigan State in 2025 and lettered one season with the Spartans.
Bell, who also earned a rookie minicamp invite from the Cleveland Browns following the NFL Draft, is the highest drafted Spartan in the CFL Canadian Draft since offensive tackle Mike Gyetvai was taken No. 3 overall by Calgary in 2007.
Bell played in all 12 games for the Spartans last season, including 11 starts at cornerback. He recorded a career-high 49 tackles, which ranked fifth most on the team, and ranked second on the team with a career-high five tackles for loss (18 yards). He also tied his career high with a team-best six pass break-ups and played a career-high 717 snaps at cornerback, most on the Spartan defense. Bell was the highest-graded defender (79.3) on the team according to Pro Football Focus, and also the fifth-highest graded cornerback in the Big Ten by PFF.
Overall, Bell played in 45 collegiate games over the course of his four seasons (2022-25), including 31 career starts. He played in 33 games at UConn with 20 starts from 2022-24 with a redshirt year in 2021.
Cromwell played in 21 career FBS games (nine at Texas Tech in 2024; 12 at MSU in 2025) with three starts (two at Texas Tech, one at MSU). He played 95 snaps on defense and 126 on special teams for the Spartans while collecting eight tackles.
Cromwell transferred from Texas Tech to Michigan State in the summer of 2025 after receiving an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA via an NCAA blanket waiver for all student-athletes who previously competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years and would have otherwise exhausted their NCAA eligibility following the 2024 season. He played his first four years in college at Guelph in Ontario from 2020-23.
Michigan State has had a total of 16 players selected in the CFL Canadian Draft, which dates back to 1952, although MSU's first selection wasn't until 1977. This marks the first time in eight years (Sean Harrington, 2018, fifth round, Toronto) that a Spartan was picked in the CFL Draft.
Cornerback Malcolm Bell from Montreal was chosen in the first round with the ninth overall pick by the Saskatchewan Roughriders, while defensive back Devynn Cromwell from Toronto was selected by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the third round (No. 25 overall). Bell and Cromwell both transferred to Michigan State in 2025 and lettered one season with the Spartans.
Bell, who also earned a rookie minicamp invite from the Cleveland Browns following the NFL Draft, is the highest drafted Spartan in the CFL Canadian Draft since offensive tackle Mike Gyetvai was taken No. 3 overall by Calgary in 2007.
Bell played in all 12 games for the Spartans last season, including 11 starts at cornerback. He recorded a career-high 49 tackles, which ranked fifth most on the team, and ranked second on the team with a career-high five tackles for loss (18 yards). He also tied his career high with a team-best six pass break-ups and played a career-high 717 snaps at cornerback, most on the Spartan defense. Bell was the highest-graded defender (79.3) on the team according to Pro Football Focus, and also the fifth-highest graded cornerback in the Big Ten by PFF.
Overall, Bell played in 45 collegiate games over the course of his four seasons (2022-25), including 31 career starts. He played in 33 games at UConn with 20 starts from 2022-24 with a redshirt year in 2021.
Cromwell played in 21 career FBS games (nine at Texas Tech in 2024; 12 at MSU in 2025) with three starts (two at Texas Tech, one at MSU). He played 95 snaps on defense and 126 on special teams for the Spartans while collecting eight tackles.
Cromwell transferred from Texas Tech to Michigan State in the summer of 2025 after receiving an extra year of eligibility from the NCAA via an NCAA blanket waiver for all student-athletes who previously competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years and would have otherwise exhausted their NCAA eligibility following the 2024 season. He played his first four years in college at Guelph in Ontario from 2020-23.
Michigan State has had a total of 16 players selected in the CFL Canadian Draft, which dates back to 1952, although MSU's first selection wasn't until 1977. This marks the first time in eight years (Sean Harrington, 2018, fifth round, Toronto) that a Spartan was picked in the CFL Draft.
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