From Winter Haven to the WNBA and around the world, Tiffany Hayes made her mark in basketball

WINTER HAVEN — For more than three decades, Winter Haven High School could boast having the best NBA player in Polk County history in Otis Birdsong, a four-time All-Star who spent 12 years in the league. Then Tracy McGrady's Hall of Fame career came. No matter, there's always the women's game.

For the past decade, Winter Haven could boast having the best WNBA player from the county to the list. Of course, Tiffany Hayes is the only Polk County athlete to have played in the WNBA, but with the career she has had, it’s going to take quite a player to surpass her. While Hayes’ playing career continues overseas, her 11-year WNBA career came to an end last December when she announced her retirement. She will continue to play internationally for the foreseeable future.

The Blue Devils are honoring Hayes on Wednesday with a halftime ceremony when they retire her number.

"It means a lot," Hayes said. "I don't think it's ever been done in Polk County. It's a special thing, especially because we did special things with that team and the coaches that we had."

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Although she played for college powerhouse Connecticut and later went pro, her high school experiences remain important.

"It was a huge start for me to even have a dream to play in college," she said. "That's where it started, just having the group of girls that we had. A lot of things I learned about basketball came in high school. Lakeland, Winter Haven — Polk County is a different place. The lessons I learned in Polk County before I ventured out to the rest of the world, I don't think I would have had the success that I had."

Hayes' decision to retire from the WNBA was a year in the making. She played nine season with the Atlanta Dream, sitting out the Covid-bubble season of 2020, then spent 2023 with the Connecticut Sun.

"Honestly, I decided it (to retire) last year but some things happened with Atlanta that wasn't quite right that I had to make a decision to end my (WNBA) career in a better place with a better opportunity with new people," said Hayes, who was the Dream's second-round draft pick in 2012. "That's why I went to Connecticut."

Hayes, 34, who won two state titles in high school and two national titles in college, never won a title with the Dream but she did play in the 2013 WNBA Finals where Minnesota Lynx swept Atlanta.

As a rookie, she was named to the 2012 All-Rookie team, her best season came in 2018 when she averaged 17.2 points, was named All-WNBA first team and WNBA All-Defensive Second Team.

In her final season with the Sun, Hayes averaged 12.1 points.

"I think I'm most proud of how consistent I was," Hayes said. "I feel like I got better every year."

Why Tiffany Hayes continues playing

Hayes still is playing overseas for the Shanghai Swordfish in the same city where former McKeel star Dwayne Bacon is playing. She's averaging 24.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.9 assists for the Swordfish. She has no plans to completely retire any time soon.

"Honestly, I don't know," she said. "I have a lot left in the tank. Overseas, (I plan to play) at least five or six more years."

The main reason she is stepping away from the WNBA is to get time off from playing year round.

"I'd rather have my summers free," she said. "In the WNBA, I just feel my time is up. I just want to move on to other things. Playing overseas is fun. I get to learn a new culture and things like that. At least now, I have a chance to be home."

Atlanta is home for Hayes, where she has opened a basketball gym with her sister. She's also promoting her brand, Mindzet, that includes a clothing line and headphones.

Hayes roots are in Polk County

The 5-foot-10 Hayes has traveled all over the world playing basketball in countries like China, Israel, Turkey, Brazil and France among others, but her roots, where she learned the game, are in Polk County, beginning with playing on her YBOA team that was coached by her mother, Jenny Hayes.

"I started with her as my foundation," Hayes said. "She instilled a lot in me. She was always telling me that I had to put in the work. Other parents would be like 'why am I playing all the time,' so my mom was like, 'Look, you have to go and give it 110 percent because I don't want people to think that you're playing just because you're my daughter.' That was the start of my foundation. My mom really taught me."

Hayes’ basketball education continued and was expanded playing for LeDawn Gibson at Winter Haven where she was a four-year starter, won two state titles, one as a freshman and one a junior, and capped her career by becoming the second Blue Devil to be named Miss Basketball.

In addition to being named Miss Basketball, Hayes was a first-team All-State selection, a Gatorade State Player of the Year, a McDonald's All-American and the Dairy Farmers' Class 5A Player of the Year.

Gibson's influence extended beyond what happened on the court.

"You had to be a good person, too, and not just a good player," Hayes said. "You have to be a good person. It was a lot about discipline. She wanted us to not just be good players but be good people and do the right thing. I think that was a lot of the stuff I learned from her."

At Winter Haven, Hayes had the varied experience that proved invaluable throughout her career. Although she was already one of the best players in the county, even as a freshman — she was Winter Haven’s leading scorer against Gainesville Eastside in the state championship game as a freshman — she wasn’t the undisputed top player on her team at the start.

Her teammates included LaQwesha Gamble and Brittany Denson, along with future Kentucky Wildcat Amber Smith. Gamble and Denson each won separate awards of being the best player in the state in Hayes’ freshman season. Gamble won the Dairy Farmers Miss Basketball award, and Denson won the Gatorade Florida Player of the Year award.

As she moved forward, she became the go-to player on the team. That varied experience helped in college and the pros.

"I think you can see that in my game," she said. "Every year in the league, there could be someone who was here today and gone tomorrow. So there's that adjustment with having to work with new players all the time. It was the same in college with having so many great players around me."

Hayes said it helped develop an instinct of knowing what part of her game was needed most from game to game.

"I think I can attribute that to the longevity of my career," she said.

From a state power to a national power

Hayes signed to play for Geno Auriemma at the University of Connecticut where she was a part of two national championship teams in '09 and '10, and her teammates included two-time national player of the year and future WNBA all-star Maya Moore and future WNBA MVP Tina Charles. As part of the national championship team, she attended the White House ceremony honoring the team and met President Barack Obama.

As a freshman, she began the season coming off the bench then moved into the starting lineup when Caroline Doty was injured and remained a starter. She averaged double digits in scoring her final three seasons, including a career-high 14.7 points as senior.

As a junior, she scored 68 points in back-to-back games against Syracuse and USF, which is the high point total in consecutive games in UConn history.

Also while Hayes was in college, she was selected for the USA Women’s World University Games Team. She was the youngest player on the team and helped the team go undefeated and win the gold medal

It was in her college career when she began to realize that she had a chance to continue to play beyond college. That dream came true when the Dream drafted her.

"I know I wanted to get there, but you're never really prepare yourself to knowing something like that," she said. "Once I get here (pros), if I get here, I know what it takes to stay from all the stuff I learned when I was younger. I was drafted in the second round and was on the same team for 10 years, so I must have been doing something right."

Although a WNBA championship eluded her, Hayes is not disappointed.

"I know that I had a really great career from start to finish," she said. "I know I always done my part. I gave my all. Of course, winning a WNBA championship would have been super dope, cherry on top, but at the end of the day, what I did was major. Not many people can say they've done all the things that I've done."

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Winter Haven to honor WNBA player and former star Tiffany Hayes