Layla Hays
Even though she’s just a sophomore, Wasilla’s Layla Hays has already heard from a bevy of big-time women’s college basketball programs. She has D1 written all over her.
It helps that she’s 6-foot-5. But posting a career-high 34-point, 25-rebound, 6-block stat line helps her stand out, too. It was the kind of performance that makes people take notice.
“My goal was to get to 30 points,” Hays said. “I’m trying to get to 40, so if I had made all of my shots, I would have had 48.”
She’s not being cocky and a 40-point triple-double is not out of the realm of possibility given her size and skillset. Hays is the state’s premier post player and ranks nationally for the Class of 2025.
“She is very good for a sophomore,” said Wasilla coach Jeannie Hebert-Truax, a former NCAA All-American at the University of Miami. “She moves well, has good body control and loves the game. She does have areas of improvement in order to achieve her goals.”
Hebert-Truax knows what she’s talking about. Besides being the greatest college guard to come out of Alaska, she’s also the state’s greatest girls coach with 570 career wins and six Class 4A state championships.
When she speaks, Hays listens and absorbs her coach’s knowledge like a sponge.
“I feel like I need to be good for her,” Hays said. “She holds us to very high standards. If we don’t come out good from the start, she gets a little upset. We pretty much all want to do it for her, and ourselves.”
Wasilla’s Layla Hays blocks a shot against ACS on Jan. 31. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
Wasilla has produced a plethora of college-ready bigs on Hebert-Truax’s watch over the last 20 years, most notably Brittney Kroon, Alysha Devine, Leya DePriest, Alexis Imoe and Bella Hays. Layla Hays is still an underclassman but already stands tall among those giants.
“Layla is in the top-3 of posts that I have had,” Hebert-Truax said.
Bella is her older sister, a 6-foot-4 freshman at Eastern Washington University of the Big Sky Conference. She was a four-time all-state pick for Wasilla and with Layla helped the Warriors reach the 2022 state title game.
“We had such good team chemistry that I always wanted to feed her the ball,” Layla said. “I knew she was going to finish, and I always trusted her.”
The sisters are super supportive today but back in the day they were super competitive.
“When I was little, I would not listen to her. I was stubborn,” Layla said with a laugh. “Both my brother and sister would try to help me, and I’d be all, ‘No, I got this.’”
Her confidence was usually slapped down on the basketball court against her older, bigger siblings.
“My brother is 6-7, so him and my sister, they would beat up on me,” Layla said.
Their tough love prepared her for the physicality inside the paint. “It helped me,” she said.
It also humbled her and served as motivation to work hard and rise above her siblings. Mission accomplished. Hebert-Truax said Layla is better than her sister was at this stage of their career.
“Layla is more physical down low, has a better jump shot and is a more consistent scorer,” Hebert-Truax said.
Second day of the Doc Larson tourney!
Double double pic.twitter.com/gS6XqNhqpz— Layla Hays (@LaylaHays2) December 18, 2022
Hays is averaging 19 points, 14 rebounds and nearly two blocked shots per game this season for a 20-3 Wasilla team ranked No. 2 in the state.
She’s a big who wants to play big, not shoot 3s and try to handle the ball. She camps in the middle of the key, hits the boards and owns a FG% of .592. And don’t sleep on her defense.
“She’s a big presence in the middle and that can be intimidating,” Hebert-Truax said.
Hays is the tallest player on the court in Alaska, which puts her on an island. That can be good and bad. Good because it makes the game easy but bad because at times it comes too easy.
“There aren’t a lot of big girls here,” she said. “I want to hold myself to a really high standard but when I play against those smaller girls that are defending me, I can just go up for a shot.”
It’s a different story when she travels to the Lower 48 and regularly faces taller players who challenge her shots in the paint.
“I’m going out of state in April for a Blue Star camp all-star game. It’s really nice to play against those bigger girls,” Hays said.
The Alaskan has held her own at Outside events and piqued the interest of several schools in Power Five conferences.
“I’m talking with Oklahoma State after this call,” she said during our phone interview.
Just a sophomore, Layla Hays is already hearing from major colleges. Photo by Bryan Boyett/Alaska Sports Report
Some of the other schools that have reached out include North Carolina, Syracuse and Lehigh. She also talked with South Carolina assistant coach Fred Chmiel, a 1989 Palmer High grad. The defending national champion Gamecocks are atop every high school player’s dream list – and having a Valley connection can only help.
“Last year, I couldn’t travel because I got a concussion, but I had talked to one of their coaches about them maybe coming to one of my games,” Hays said. “I’m working on talking to colleges, especially them.”
So far, she’s eating up the recruiting process.
“I love it,” Hays said. “It always gives me stress and I’m always super nervous before a call, but it really motivates me to be better.”
Another great motivator in Hebert-Truax, a no-nonsense, uber competitive coach who commands respect. She is not for the faint of heart and her championship expectations only increase for a player with college aspirations.
“I chat with kids about their dreams and what reality is for them,” Hebert-Truax said. “One must outwork those that they want to be better than. They cannot just talk about it; they must have action behind it.”
Jeannie Hebert-Truax
Hebert-Truax was a legendary player at Miami 30 years ago and remains the only Alaskan to record 1,700 points and 600 assists in a college career.
“It takes a lot of work to get to the next level and be competitive,” Hebert-Truax said. “You are going to be challenged both mentally and physically. I try as a coach to challenge them every day somehow. Sometimes it could just be showing up for practice with a good attitude to work and focus.”
Hays loves playing for Hebert-Truax and cited her coach as a reason why she has no plans to leave Alaska. Even in an era when elite players moving out of state is all the rage, Hays would rather play alongside childhood friends and try to win a state title with Wasilla.
“I had the chance to go play at a private school in Missouri, but I can’t imagine playing for anybody other than Hebert,” Hays said. “I just can’t imagine playing at a different school.”