Kurahashi, who has racked up accolades from POTY to Team Canada rosters, is the first winner from UBC
May 24, 2026 by Aidan Thomas in News
British Columbia’s Mika Kurahashi was named the winner of the 2026 Callahan Award in the women’s division during the semifinal round of Nationals. Kurahasi’s Thunderbirds are still alive for the 2026 national title, which would be their second straight, after defeating Colorado Quandary in quarterfinals and Stanford Superfly in the semifinal. Regarding the award, Kurahashi is the first winner from British Columbia.
Kurahashi won the award on the strength of what has been an unbelievable career after spending a large portion of the 2026 season recovering from injury. She returned in limited fashion at Northwest Challenge, helping the Thunderbirds push undefeated #1 Carleton to universe point in bracket play. At Nationals, she didn’t need to do much in pool play (five goals, seven assists) to help UBC push into the bracket, and she added two goals and two assists in their quarterfinal win.
Despite Kurahashi’s limited regular season contributions, she made her name as a Team Canada star and the driving force behind British Columbia’s 2025 title run, where she had 18 goals and 15 assists. On the international scene, Kurahashi led Team Canada in points played as the Canadian squad earned a silver medal. Kurahashi also brought silver to the U24 Mixed National Team as their team captain at the U24 World Championships.
While not the statistical leader this year for the Thunderbirds (although she very well may be in the rest of UBC’s bracket run), Kurahashi is the unquestioned leader and X-factor for UBC, and their singular best chance at upsetting undefeated Carleton in the final. As she pursues her second collegiate national title, Kurhashi adds the Callahan award to her trophy case, alongside being a 2025 All-American and Ultiworld Player of the Year.
And of course, one of the best parts of the Callahan process is the video submissions, and Kurahashi’s did not disappoint. Make sure you take 6 minutes and 18 seconds out of your day to watch what was largely considered the best video submission in the women’s division – and maybe across both divisions.
