If you only know Kiyara Letlow as a rebounder, you’re missing the point.
The Toronto product is a 6’1 forward who’s built a résumé that almost reads unreal: U SPORTS Rookie of the Year, multiple AUS First Team All-Star seasons, and repeat All-Canadian recognition. This year, she’s carried that dominance into the OUA, sitting 2nd in the conference in rebounds per game and 9th in scoring, while Queen’s has surged to 20–1.
Having the opportunity to chat with her demonstrated that her story is deeper than her accolades, but about the person that she has become in the process.
Early Beginnings
Letlow is honest about how uncommon her origin story is. She didn’t grow up as “the hoop kid.” She was a multi-sport athlete who didn’t start playing basketball until Grade 9, and even then, the game wasn’t what pulled her in first. She jokingly stated how even growing up watching Raptors games, she paid more attention to the cheerleaders than the game.
“Honestly, basketball didn’t look like much for me growing up. I didn’t start playing, till I was in grade nine.”
She found her entry point through Toronto Triple Threat, and the hook was bigger than jumpers and drills.
“That was like kind of like my first real experience playing basketball… I fell in love with the friendships I got at Triple Threat, and then the basketball came next.”
As her game started to grow, so did the circle around her. Letlow credits coaching early, starting with the support she felt at Toronto Triple Threat, then the push that came after she transferred to Father John Redmond. Two names come up fast: Coach Jeremy and Coach Jason.
“Coach Jeremy… really pushed me to be better… he taught me so much about the game… that’s kind of like where I started to realize, okay, I can kind of do this at a high level.”
But it’s Coach Jason who poured loads of support into her basketball life.
“I just wanted to quit basketball… but he was the one pushing me to just continue with it… I’ve known him almost 10 years now… he still comes to every game I have in the city.”
High School Ball
At Father John Redmond, Letlow says the basketball part helped her. The culture did not.
“My experience there was not great… coming in as like a 6’1 mixed race athlete, it was not the best experience for me.”
Still, she found something solid inside the team environment.
“In terms of the people I had on my team, I really found great friendships… I think I was pushed by my teammates a lot of the time to do better.”
That mix matters. It’s part of what makes her story bigger than highlights. She’s talking about learning how to exist in spaces that weren’t built with her in mind, and still pulling something real out of them.
Choosing Cape Breton
Her recruitment didn’t come wrapped in certainty. It dragged. It stressed her out. Nothing felt right. Then the advice came: look out east.She visited STFX and Cape Breton, expecting one outcome and getting another.
“I had my mind set on just going to ST.FX… and then I went there and it just didn’t feel right.”
The Cape Breton University visit was almost an afterthought. Then it clicked.
“The coach’s approach… his honesty… where my game was at… I was like, okay, I think this is kind of where I need to be.”
She committed to CBU, and when COVID wiped out competition, she treated it like time she couldn’t waste.
“We were locked down… classes were online… I was just in the gym.”
The awards came fast. Historically fast. Her rookie season included the most rebounds per game by a rookie in U SPORTS history and the second-most points per game by a rookie.
“That season was really just a byproduct of work and work ethic.” And the part she keeps returning to isn’t the stat line. It’s the internal change. “When I committed… versus when I finished my rookie year… it was two completely different players… my confidence… my knowledge of the game, everything grew.”
More than an Athlete
When she talks about consistency, she doesn’t point to training plans first. She points to the stuff athletes rarely get credit for.
“Everyone can look at a lot of these awards… but they’re not really seeing the times when you’re injured… when your team is losing… when you’re stressed out with school.”
And her answer isn’t “be tougher.” It’s more human than that.
“The hardest part… was staying consistent when I wasn’t seeing the results that I wanted.”
That’s the through-line of this whole conversation: Letlow doesn’t want to be reduced to what she produces. She wants to be measured by how she handles the process.
Transition to Queen’s
Her transfer to Queen’s wasn’t one dramatic moment. It was years of tiny connections: watching the program up close, playing against them, conversations with players, then a trail of relationships that kept pointing her there. She believes that she has really been given the opportunity to grow out east.
“If you put a shark in a small tank… it’s only ever going to grow to the tank size… being here really is like… I’ve been let out into the ocean.”
She says the biggest growth hasn’t been about becoming “better” in the obvious ways. It’s been learning how to fit, trust, and lead differently.
“I’ve been challenged… to be a better teammate… learning how to rely on my team… learning how to trust my teammates.”
Hoop Queens
The conversation also shifted to HoopQueens and what it has meant for women’s basketball in Ontario. Letlow played in the league last summer with her current Queen’s teammate Brooke Hussey, suiting up for Team Charge. For her, the impact is bigger than highlights. She sees it as a space where athletes can compete in front of their families, build real connections, and feel supported in a way that is not always possible when so many players have to leave home to keep chasing the game.
“They’ve done such a great job of really allowing a space for athletes to come, to grow, to learn to compete, and to do it in front of their family,” she said. Letlow also emphasized the league’s identity as a platform that reflects the communities it comes from, which can be powerful for younger players looking for proof that they belong in the sport. “It really is a space for the marginalized to kind of just pop out and just do what they got to do,” she added. She went on to offer advice to the younger generation.
Advice to Younger Players and Long Term Goals
Letlow’s advice is direct, and it’s not framed like a motivational poster. It’s personal. “Bet on yourself… even if nobody else is betting on you… it’s your own life.”
Her short-term goals are clear: win an OUA title and chase a national banner. Long-term, she’s aiming for overseas and keeping the national team in view. But even there, she keeps it grounded in who she is becoming. “Learning to love the game more… learning to love myself more within the game… learning how to be a better person on the floor and off the floor.”
That’s why this story lands. Kiyara Letlow is a star. The numbers prove that.
But she’s also building something else: perspective, identity, and a version of herself that can survive the parts of sport that don’t come with applause.
It was a privilege having the opportunity to not only speak to a legendary U SPORTS athlete, but an even greater person. Kiyara is a perfect illustration of a person who is a great athlete but an even greater person. We wish her all the best on the rest of the season and post season.
