Hayden, a 5-foot-9 forward out of Fort Erie International Academy, has committed to Alyssa Cox and the Winnipeg Wesmen women’s basketball team as the latest recruit in the Class of 2023.
She will study Science and have five years of eligibility. She joins River East's Jen Kallon, Beliveau's Jazmin Birch and Sisler's Alyssa Doneza in the class.
While Hayden’s most recent area code is southern Ontario, her roots are in Winnipeg, where she has done virtually all of her development in becoming one of the top players in the province.
Hayden was first identified by the provincial program as an eighth-grader who aged up to play for the U16 team in 2019. She then got the opportunity to represent Manitoba again last summer, playing for Cox on the U18 team that represented Manitoba at the Canada Summer Games in St. Catharines/Welland, Ont.
Two months later, she was making the Niagara Region her second home.
“It just was a new experience and it was a great opportunity, and I really wanted to try that and see what it was like to be away from home,” said Hayden, who started at Dakota Collegiate before making the decision to try the prep-school route. “Winnipeg has good basketball but it’s not like the competition in the OSBA, and that was really — basketball-wise — what drove me to going to Fort Erie.”
Prior to heading to southern Ontario, Hayden helped the Lancers win the AAAA provincial title as a Grade 11.
“It was hard and everything was really last-minute,” she said of her decision to transfer out. “I was getting ready to be here for my last year of high school when I left, and I didn’t have time to make the most of the last few days here. It was just a big change all at once and it was a bit of shell-shock.
“It was a really good experience. I definitely got to do a lot of things that I would never have done otherwise. I matured a lot as a basketball player and as a person, so I wouldn’t take it back for anything.”
Hayden helped the Fort Erie prep to a 14-0 record in the Ontario Scholastic Basketball Association regular season.
Last spring, as a Grade 11 at Dakota, Hayden was ranked as the No. 9 player in Manitoba in the Winnipeg Free Press’ annual coaches poll, and there’s little doubt she would’ve been included again this season had she played in the province.
“I’m ready to be home again,” she said. “It was great to be away from home and I became a lot more independent and everything, but I love being able to be with my family. This is a great program, and it’s great to be able to come back to this.”
Hayden said she improved as a shooter playing in the competitive OSBA, but said the hallmark of her game is her defensive intensity — “I think defence is the most important part, the most fun part” — and Cox is excited about the skillset she’ll bring to the Wesmen.
“Jasia brings a great combination of athleticism and high-level playing experience to this year’s recruiting class,” Cox said. “She is a tenacious defender, an excellent rebounder, and will adapt well to the pace and physicality of the U Sports game. She made great strides in her game last summer and playing in the OSBA, and I am excited to see what she brings to this next level of basketball.”
Hayden said she had a wait-and-see approach for recruitment from other schools, but intentionally sought out UWinnipeg and the Wesmen.
“I pursued this school. … Everything that I wanted is here.”
Now, less than a year after embarking on a journey that took her away from home, Hayden is ready to come back to the city that raised her.
“I’m so excited. There’s nothing like playing for Winnipeg.”
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2022 Manitoba Provincial Team Profile
