I love going into an event and finding legit college prospects I knew nothing about before the play started. It only took a few minutes, if that long, for me to turn to the Palmetto Pressure Director and ask “Who is 17?” He told me JaNia was the Region Player of the Year for Beaufort and was also selected as an All State player. It was easy to see why as she rocked the basketball behind her back, between her legs, and in front of defenders before scoring the basketball with a high level of smoothness to her finishes. Hayward shot the ball well from the perimeter in the game I watched as well as breaking down defenders off the bounce and getting into the paint where she finished with both hands. When she was running the point for Palmetto Pressure, she did a good job distributing the ball where it should go and getting it there fast. Hayward, herself, is fast, and along with the aforementioned handles, hurt opposing defenses both scoring and dishing the ball off to open teammates on the break.

The move up from 3A to 4A for Beaufort has produced mostly fruitful results for the Eagles. Last season, Beaufort concluded its 2025-26 campaign with an overall record of 21-5 plus going a perfect 10-0 to win its region. Hayward would wear the Eagles uniform in all 26 of those contests and would average a team-leading 20 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 steals (also a team-leading statistic) and 3.2 assists (also a team-leading statistic) per matchup. Hayward played a major part in Beaufort’s deep tournament run to the 4A Lower State semifinals in 2025-26. Her season also included her claiming Region Player of the Year honors and leading Beaufort in 3-point percentage. 

As one of three team captains on this season’s Beaufort assembling, Heyward is expected to lead by example with her play on the court. Heyward did just that as she contributed 20 points to the Eagles’ 61-50 win over Bishop England. The sophomore two guard displayed the long-range accuracy coaches expect from twos. Beaufort connected on eight triples for the game – four of them were courtesy of Heyward. She also displayed how effective she can be on defense – including matching an opposing ball carrier step for step and looking to pry the rock from said opposing ball carrier’s hands. 

Hayward makes the move over to Beaufort HS this coming season after playing last season at Riverview Charter. JaNia is best described as a guard – not a true point or shooting guard. She shows to have good size already and a willingness to get to the basket.