Jayden King

Jayden King
Curler
Born (2002-03-17) March 17, 2002
London, Ontario
Team
Curling clubTillsonburg CC,
Tillsonburg, ON[1]
SkipJayden King
ThirdDylan Niepage
SecondOwen Henry
LeadVictor Pietrangelo
Mixed doubles
partner		Grace Cave
Curling career
Member Association Ontario
Brier appearances1 (2026)
Top CTRS ranking7th (2025–26)

Jayden King (born March 17, 2002, in London) is a Canadian curler from Courtland, Ontario.[1] He currently skips his own team out of Tillsonburg. In 2026, King made history by becoming the first Black skip in Brier history after winning the 2026 Ontario Tankard.[2]

King began curling around the age of 10 after watching it at a neighbour's house in Tillsonburg.[3]

Career

Juniors

King had a breakthrough 2021–22 season as a member of the Dylan Niepage rink that also included Gavin Lydiate and Daniel Del Conte. In August, the team went undefeated to win the Oakville Under 25 Kick-off, their first victory on the men's tour.[4] They also advanced through the first cashspiel qualifier of the 2022 Ontario Tankard to qualify for their first provincial men's championship. There, they reached the B semifinals before dropping back-to-back games to Scott Howard and Tanner Horgan, eliminating them from contention.[5] At the Ontario U20 Curling Championships, the team dropped the first final to Landan Rooney, however, defeated Christopher Inglis in the second final to earn the right to compete at the 2022 Canadian Junior Curling Championships as Ontario 2.[6] At the championship, the team finished 4–4 in the round robin, not enough to advance to the playoffs.[7]

The following season, King returned to skipping his own team, forming a new rink with Jack Ragan, Owen Henry and Jacob Clarke. This team won the Ontario junior championship, defeating Canadian junior champion Landan Rooney in the final.[8] At the 2023 Canadian Junior Curling Championships, they missed the playoffs with a 3–5 record.[9]

Men's

Out of juniors, King reunited with his former teammates Niepage, Lydiate and Del Conte for the 2023–24 season and took over as skip. On the men's tour, the team saw immediate success, winning the Capital Curling Fall Open and reaching the final of the Stroud Sleeman Cash Spiel. They also made it to the semifinals of the Summer Series and the quarterfinals of the 2023 KW Fall Classic and 2023 Stu Sells Tankard.[10] With their points accumulated on the Ontario tour, the team was able to directly qualify for the 2024 Ontario Tankard. There, Team King lost in the A and B brackets to Sam Mooibroek but bounced back to qualify for the playoffs through the C event. Notably in the C bracket semifinal, King and his team faced Kibo Mulima, marking the first time that two Black skips faced off against each other at a provincial championship.[11] In the playoffs, Team King then scored upset victories over Pat Ferris and John Epping to qualify for the provincial final.[12] Facing Scott Howard, the team lost 8–7 in an extra end, finishing second.[13] To end the season, Team King represented the University of Guelph at the 2024 U Sports/Curling Canada University Curling Championships after finishing third at the Ontario University Athletics championship.[14] There, they had a disappointing 3–4 sixth-place finish.[15] After the season, Gavin Lydiate left the team and was replaced by Owen Henry.

To start the 2024–25 season, Team King finished runner-up at the U25 NextGen Classic to Jordon McDonald.[16] On tour, they continued to find steady success, though they did not win any event titles. Their best result came at the Stu Sells Port Elgin Superspiel where they lost in the final to Korea's Park Jong-duk.[17] In the new year, the team qualified for the 2025 Ontario Tankard through CTRS points. After finishing runner-up the year before, the team was not able to replicate their success, finishing 3–3 and failing to advance to the playoff round.[18] For the following season, Daniel Del Conte was replaced by Victor Pietrangelo.

The 2025–26 season marked Team King's best season to date as they climbed to seventh on the CTRS rankings and qualified in all but one event they played. To begin, the team competed in the 2025 U25 NextGen Classic where they were again eliminated by Jordon McDonald, this time in the semifinals.[19] They then played in the 2025 KW Fall Classic where they had an undefeated run up until the final where they lost to Italy's Joël Retornaz.[20] The team then had a pair of quarterfinal losses at the 2025 Masters Tier 2 Grand Slam event and 2025 Stu Sells Toronto Tankard, falling to Daniel Casper and Magnus Ramsfjell respectively. In October, the team participated in the 2025 Canadian Olympic Curling Pre-Trials, qualifying as the eighth seeds after Team Reid Carruthers declined their invitation.[21] There, the team had an impressive showing, going 4–3 and just missing the playoffs.[22] They bounced back with back-to-back finals appearances at the Broken Broom Tobacco Belt Cash Spiel and Stu Sells Living Waters Collingwood Classic, losing to Mark Kean and Scott Howard. In January, the team played in the 2026 Ontario Tankard where they entered as the top seeds. After qualifying for the playoffs through the A bracket, they lost the 1 vs. 2 game to Sam Mooibroek. They then beat Mark Kean in the semifinal to set up a rematch against Mooibroek in the final. Tied in the ninth end, the team scored two points before stealing in the tenth end to win the game 9–6, capturing the Ontario Tankard title and sending them to the 2026 Montana's Brier in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.[23] Also with the win, King made history by becoming the first Black skip in Brier history.[2] At the Brier, King led his team to a 5–3 round robin record, enough to qualify for the championship round.[24] They then lost to Brad Gushue 12–6 in the page qualifier and were eliminated.[25]

Mixed doubles

In 2025, King found significant mixed doubles success with partner Grace Cave at the 2025 U25 NextGen Classic. There, the pair reached the final where they were defeated by Serena Gray-Withers and Victor Pietrangelo 8–2.[19] Also in 2025, the pair went undefeated at the Ontario mixed doubles provincial championship until the semifinal where they lost to Katie Ford and Oliver Campbell.[26]

Mixed

King skipped Ontario at the 2024 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship. With teammates Grace Cave, Daniel Del Conte and Jillian Uniacke, the team missed the playoffs with a 2–4 record, ultimately finishing twelfth with a 3–6 record.[27]

Personal life

King is currently a physiotherapy student at McMaster University.[1] He previously attended the University of Guelph[13] and Glendale High School in Tillsonburg. King's father is an immigrant from Trinidad and Tobago.[3]

Teams

Season Skip Third Second Lead
2016–17[28] Jayden King Nolan Bryant Evan Prior Patrick Meyer
2017–18 Jayden King Carter Bryant Nolan Bryant Patrick Meyer
2018–19 Daniel Del Conte Jayden King Samuel Guilbeault Vincent Barbon
2019–20 Jayden King Jett Gazeley Kaamraan Islam Cole Lacroix-Lyon
2021–22 Dylan Niepage Gavin Lydiate Jayden King Daniel Del Conte
2022–23 Jayden King Jack Ragan Owen Henry Jacob Clarke
2023–24 Jayden King Dylan Niepage Gavin Lydiate Daniel Del Conte
2024–25 Jayden King Dylan Niepage Owen Henry Daniel Del Conte
2025–26 Jayden King Dylan Niepage Owen Henry Victor Pietrangelo
2026–27 Jayden King Dylan Niepage Owen Henry Victor Pietrangelo

References

  1. ^ a b c "2026 Montana's Brier Media Guide" (PDF). Curling Canada. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Physiotherapy student Jayden King is making Canadian curling history". McMaster News. March 5, 2026. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  3. ^ a b "Southwestern Ontario skip ready for Brier debut: 'Dream come true'". London Free Press. January 19, 2026. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  4. ^ "2021 Oakville Under 25 Kick-off". CurlingZone. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  5. ^ "2022 Ontario Tankard". CurlingZone. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  6. ^ "2022 U-21 Men's Provincials". Curl ON. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  7. ^ "Set in Stone!". Curling Canada. March 31, 2022. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  8. ^ "HIGH ACHIEVERS: Zemmelink, King rinks win Ontario U21 curling, off to junior nationals". Ottawa Sports Pages. March 15, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  9. ^ "Moving day!". Curling Canada. April 1, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  10. ^ "Team Jayden King: 2023–24". CurlingZone. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  11. ^ "Black History Month". Curling Canada. February 11, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  12. ^ Mike Davies (January 29, 2024). "Epping's rink comes up short at Ontario Tankard". The Peterborough Examiner. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  13. ^ a b Brent Lale (January 28, 2024). "'You'll see us again': Local curler steals the show at Ontario Tankard". CTV News. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  14. ^ "Banner Season: Voyageurs, Golden Hawks bring home bragging rights at first winter championships". Ontario University Athletics. February 4, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  15. ^ "U SPORTS Champions!". Curling Canada. March 17, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  16. ^ "The Champs Are Here". Curling Canada. August 30, 2024. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  17. ^ Sandy Lindsay (November 4, 2024). "South Korean visiting team wins 42nd annual Super Spiel". Saugeen Times. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  18. ^ "2025 Ontario Tankard". CurlingZone. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  19. ^ a b "Gray-Withers Doubles Up at U-25 NextGen Classic". Curling Canada. September 1, 2025. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  20. ^ "Tour Roundup: Retornaz runs the table at KW Fall Classic". Grand Slam of Curling. September 22, 2025. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  21. ^ "Veteran skip Carruthers pulls out of curling Pre-Trials to focus on coaching". TSN. June 25, 2025. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  22. ^ "Canadian Curling Pre-Trials: Standings and results". Grand Slam of Curling. October 23, 2025. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  23. ^ "Courtland curler Jayden King wins Ontario Tankard, advances to 2026 Brier". Brighton Today. January 16, 2026. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  24. ^ "Team Gushue claims Pool A's top-spot with win over Team Jacobs at 2026 Montana's Brier". Curling Canada. March 5, 2026. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  25. ^ "Battle of the Brads rematch looming at 2026 Montana's Brier". Curling Canada. March 6, 2026. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  26. ^ "2025 Ontario Mixed Doubles Provincial Championship". CurlingZone. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  27. ^ "2024 Canadian Mixed Curling Championship – Ontario (King)". Curling Canada. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
  28. ^ "Jayden King Past Teams". CurlingZone. Retrieved March 22, 2026.
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