Jillian Hayes is heading into her junior season at Cincinnati with a chance to be one of the best players in the conf..."/> Jillian Hayes is heading into her junior season at Cincinnati with a chance to be one of the best players in the conf..."/>
Cincy on the Prowl
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Cincinnati Basketball: Jillian Hayes hopes to build on impressive sophomore season

By Charles Post

Cincinnati Bearcats guard Jillian Hayes hits floater. The Enquirer.
Cincinnati Bearcats guard Jillian Hayes hits floater. The Enquirer. /
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Jillian Hayes is heading into her junior season at Cincinnati with a chance to be one of the best players in the conference after averaging a team-high 11.5 points and starting all 28 games as a sophomore. The former 4-star prospect was named Eastern Cincinnati Conference Player of the Year and finished her time at Loveland High School as the all-time leading scorer in school history before earning All-AAC freshman honors with the Bearcats.

She put up 18.3 points and 9.6 rebounds as a senior.

Cincinnati Basketball: Jillian Hayes hopes to build on impressive sophomore season

Coming from an athletic family, Hayes has been around basketball forever. Her mother Kristi Kinne-Hayes was a star at Drake and won the 1995 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, while her father Jonathan Hayes played 12 seasons in the NFL prior to being an assistant coach with the Cincinnati Bengals from 2003-2018. She also has three brothers, the oldest being New Orleans Pelicans big man Jaxson Hayes, who was the 8th pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.

https://twitter.com/GoBearcatsWBB/status/1368638305470939139

It was no surprise that Hayes had an immediate impact on the program when she arrived to Cincinnati, appearing in 24 games and averaging 7.6 points and 2.7 assists as a freshman. She also totaled a team-high 34 steals and led AAC freshman with 26 blocks. The pandemic made that season difficult for the entire program as head coach Michelle Heard-Clark suffered a losing record (8-16) for the first time at Cincinnati but Hayes consistently flashed potential.

She was named to the All-AAC Freshman Team.

As a sophomore, the Ohio native scored a team-best 11.5 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game as you could see her progression continue from the prior season. Hayes dropped a career-high 23 points in a narrow win over Central Michigan in December and proved she was prepared to become a focal point of the offense. Following a second straight losing season, Hayes will attempt to lead Cincinnati to the postseason for the first time in her career in 2023.