Letlow becomes third Caper to win James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award
(HALIFAX, N.S.) Atlantic University Sport is pleased to announce Cape Breton University women’s basketball forward Kiyara Letlow as the recipient of the 36th annual James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award, presented by PepsiCo.
Letlow’s win is just the third for a student-athlete from Cape Breton University, joining soccer players Ciera Disipio in 2020 and Karolyn Blain in 2015.
The James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award was established in 1985 and is awarded annually to an outstanding student-athlete in Atlantic University Sport for excellence in academics, athletics, leadership, sportsmanship, and citizenship.
This year’s award selection committee consisted of Phil Currie, president and CEO of Atlantic University Sport; Marg Bayer, wife of the late James Bayer; and Dr. Denis Prud’homme, rector and vice-chancellor of l’Université de Moncton and chair of the AUS board of directors.
A third-year forward from Toronto, Letlow has shined on the court, in the classroom and in the community.
The three-time AUS First Team All-Star (2022, 2023, 2024), two-time U SPORTS Second Team All-Canadian (2022, 2023) and U SPORTS Rookie of the Year (2022) led the nation in rebounds per game this season, averaging 14.5 every time out this year. She also finished fourth in the AUS, and seventh in the country, in points per game (19.5).
This season, Letlow’s Capers won their first three games – including one over the eventual AUS champion Saint Mary’s Huskies where she scored 31 points and grabbed an outstanding 21 rebounds. From there, CBU struggled to find their footing and failed to make the playoffs.
In the classroom, Letlow has been a U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian and Dean’s List student in her first two years at CBU while pursuing a BA with honours in Psychology.
“Once in a while, you encounter a student athlete that impresses you with their motivation, their dedication, their leadership, their discipline and what they are able to accomplish both in the classroom and on their field of play. In my time here, Kiyara is such a student athlete,” said CBU Director of Athletics, John Ryan. “In addition to her academic and athletic performance, Kiyara has a wonderful personality. Mature, dependable, responsible, pleasant, and courteous are but a few of the adjectives I could use to describe Kiyara.”
Off campus, Kiyara has been just as impactful. Back home in Toronto, Letlow has worked with The Period Purse Initiative – run out of her church with the goal to provide women hygiene products for 1-3 months – packing and distributing kits to members of the community.
She was also involved early on in the creation of the Stone Soup Network – a non-profit organization in her old neighbourhood that offers free goods and services to those in need. Part of her role included delivering food boxes and connecting people to resources the Stone Soup Network and her church had to offer.
In 2020, Letlow leaned on her experiences growing up as a bi-racial kid in Toronto to put herself front and centre, speaking at a community-led march opposing black injustice following the murder of George Floyd.
At CBU, Letlow has volunteered her time to assist with various basketball camps as well as taking part in World Down Syndrome Day where members of the community with down syndrome were invited to take part in an array of activities and games.
“While I continue to navigate my roles as a student-athlete and as a member of the community, my dedication to promoting inclusivity, empathy and positive change remains unwavering as I actively seek out ways to become involved in the community and contribute in any way possible,” said Letlow.
Each year, AUS member schools nominate one student-athlete for this prestigious award. As this year's recipient, Letlow receives a $1,000 scholarship.
“On behalf of the selection committee, I would like to congratulate Kiyara on being named this year’s recipient of the PepsiCo James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award,” said AUS President and CEO, Phil Currie. “Already a celebrated basketball player with numerous conference and national awards to her name, we are proud to honour her with this award that acknowledges her commitment to excellence in the classroom and in the community.
“I would also like to recognize all of this year’s nominees, who made our decision very difficult. They each exhibit the hard work, dedication and community mindedness that exemplifies what it means to be an Atlantic University Sport student-athlete and a James Bayer Award nominee.”
Also nominated were Acadia’s Ella Collins, Dalhousie’s Noah Mascoll-Gomes, Moncton’s Nathaël Roy, Saint Mary’s Clara Gascoigne, Mount Allison’s Tallon Stephenson, Memorial’s Zoë Rowe, STFX’s Katherine Culligan, St. Thomas’s Aislynn Byers, UNB’s Cole MacKay and UPEI’s Kamari Scott. Each of the nominees receive a $500 scholarship award.
James Bayer taught education and physical education at both high school and university levels. He served as supervisor and consultant for the Nova Scotia Department of Culture, Recreation and Fitness.
At Acadia University, he served as dean of recreation and physical education and as director of athletics from 1978-1985. As an administrator in the AUAA and the CIAU, he was a key player in the establishment of intercollegiate athletic policy.
This memorial scholarship is the most prestigious award offered annually by Atlantic University Sport.
Previous recipients of the James Bayer Memorial Scholarship Award:
1987 - Greg Berry, StFX University, Soccer; Caroline Lulham, Mount Allison University, Volleyball 1988 - Gunnhildur Baldursson, Acadia University, Soccer 1989 - Jackie Wong, Mount Allison University, Volleyball / Soccer 1990 - Augy Jones, St. Francis Xavier University, Basketball 1991 - Heather Morrison, University of Prince Edward Island, Field Hockey 1992 - Keith Donovan, Dalhousie University, Basketball 1993 - David Sykes, Saint Mary's University, Football 1994 - Kathy McNally, University of Prince Edward Island, Field Hockey 1995 - Scott Bagnell, Dalhousie University, Volleyball 1996 - Carla Edwards, Mount Allison University, Volleyball 1997 - Chris Diamond, University of Prince Edward Island, Soccer 1998 - Peter Benoite, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Basketball 1999 - Jan Trojanowski, Acadia University, Basketball 2000 - Kristen Lewis, Dalhousie University, Cross Country 2001 - Jillian MacDonald, Dalhousie University, Basketball 2002 - Louis Poirier, Université de Moncton, Track & Field 2003 - Dan Tudin, Dalhousie University, Hockey 2004 - Eric Gillis, St. Francis Xavier University, Cross Country 2005 - Adrienne Power, Dalhousie University, Track & Field 2006 - David Chant, Saint Mary's University, Hockey 2007 - Colin Sinclair, University of New Brunswick, Hockey 2008 - Katherine Quackenbush, Memorial University of Newfoundland, Basketball 2009 - Isabelle Miles, University of New Brunswick, Soccer 2010 - Alex Legge, Dalhousie University, Basketball 2011 - Jacob Kilpatrick, University of New Brunswick, Volleyball 2012 - Daniel You, Dalhousie University, Volleyball 2013 - Rebecca Haworth, Dalhousie University, Track & Field 2014 - Alana Fairfax, Acadia University, Soccer 2015 - Karolyne Blain, Cape Breton University, Soccer 2016 - Katie Ross, Acadia University, Soccer and Basketball 2017 - Eric Locke, St. Francis Xavier University, Hockey 2018 - Kiera Rigby, University of Prince Edward Island, Basketball 2019 - Abby Clarke, St. Thomas University, Hockey 2020 - Ciera Disipio, Cape Breton University, Soccer 2021 - Not awarded 2022 - Not awarded 2023 - Haley McDonald, Acadia University, Basketball 2024 – Kiyara Letlow, Cape Breton University, Basketball
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