Kurleigh Gittens Jr.

Kurleigh Gittens Jr. (born September 20, 1997) is a professional Canadian football wide receiver for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played U Sports football for the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks where he was the OUA Most Valuable Player in 2017.

Early life Gittens was born in Guyana and moved with his father, Kurleigh Gittens Sr., to Ottawa when he was seven years old.

University career Gittens played U Sports football with the Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks from 2015 to 2018. He immediately saw playing time as a rookie in 2015, playing in all eight regular season games and recording 40 receptions for 461 yards and two touchdowns.

In 2016, he continued to contribute to a dominant 7–1 Golden Hawks team as he had 27 receptions for 461 yards and six touchdowns. The Golden Hawks advanced in the playoffs that year to the Yates Cup and the team recorded the largest fourth quarter comeback in the history of the OUA championship game as they scored 24 unanswered points to win the game against the home team Western Mustangs. Gittens scored on a three-yard touchdown catch to tie the game at 40–40 and the Golden Hawks later kicked a game-winning field goal to secure the victory. His 75 receptions was a single-season record for the most in U Sports history. He also scored a career-high seven touchdowns this season (six receiving and one punt return) en route to being named a U Sports first-team all-Canadian at wide receiver and a U Sports second-team all-Canadian as a return specialist. For his outstanding 2017 season, Gittens was also named the OUA Most Valuable Player as the runner up to the U Sports Hec Crighton Trophy.

In his fourth year in 2018, Gittens again posted dominant numbers as he caught 63 passes for 807 yards and three touchdowns and a career-high 39 punt returns for 396 yards and one touchdown. He also set the OUA record for career receptions with 206 and was just the fifth U Sports football player to record over 200 catches in a career.

Toronto Argonauts In the final CFL Scouting Bureau Rankings, Gittens was named the 16th best available player in the 2019 CFL draft. He was then drafted in the third round, 23rd overall, by the Toronto Argonauts in the 2019 draft and signed with the team on May 16, 2019. He began the 2019 season on the practice roster, but was elevated to the active roster in week 3 and played in his first professional football game on July 6, 2019 against the BC Lions. As the season progressed, his role with the team grew as he was featured on kick returns where he recorded his first three kickoff returns, which totaled 53 yards, in the Labour Day Classic against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. With the Argonauts eliminated from post-season contention, Gittens started his first professional football game at wide receiver in the last game of the regular season on November 2, 2019 against the Tiger-Cats, but did not record any receptions. In the first game of the 2021 Toronto Argonauts season against the Calgary Stampeders, on August 7, 2021, he scored his first professional touchdown on a 27-yard pass from McLeod Bethel-Thompson. In the pandemic-shortened 2021 CFL season, Gittens played in 13 regular season games where he had 50 receptions for 605 yards and four touchdowns and was named an East Division All-Star at season's end. He also played in the team's East Final loss to the Tiger-Cats where he had four receptions for 74 yards.

Gittens had a breakout 2022 season in the CFL. He played in all 18 regular season games and finished sixth in the league in receiving yards with 1,101. Gittens caught 81 passes, five of which were for touchdowns, and was named the East Division finalist for Most Outstanding Canadian: BC Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke ended up winning the award.

In 2023, played in just 10 regular season games where he had 35 receptions for 416 yards and one touchdown.

Edmonton Elks On January 15, 2024, Gittens was traded to the Edmonton Elks, along with a 2024 CFL draft pick, in exchange for Jake Ceresna, reuniting him with McLeod Bethel-Thompson, who had signed with the Elks in the offseason. He spent two years with the Elks and became a free agent upon the expiry of his contract on February 10, 2026.

Hamilton Tiger-Cats On February 12, 2026, it was announced that Gittens had signed with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.