Hays High has changed their college athletic signing ceremonies. They now hold one signing day per month. The first of this new format was Wednesday in Gym A.
Kaelin Maier - Tabor Tennis
Kaelin Maier knew how to hit hard. She came up playing volleyball and softball. Her freshman year though she transitioned to tennis. Coach Kayla Brown noticed that Maier won most of her points by hitting the ball so hard the opponent couldn't return the ball. Brown also knew that wouldn't work as well against better competition in the future.
Kaelin Maier
Maier spent the rest of the high school career becoming a more complete tennis player. Something that caught the eye of Tabor College out of Hillsboro, KS.
Maier made her decision official on Wednesday signing to play for the Bluejays. Coach Brown believes Maier is the first Hays High female tennis player to sign at the collegiate level.
Coach Kayla Brown
Maier was mostly a doubles player for the Indians. She teamed up with classmate Alyse Zimmerman to form the #1 doubles team at Hays High. The two tied for first at the Western Athletic Conference meet this past fall season.
Maier was 45-22 over a two year varsity career.
Molly Martin - Ottawa Basketball
Molly Martin has played at the varsity level in basketball from the moment she hit the floor at Hays High School as a freshman. The now senior has one season left but is already one of the most decorated players in program history.
Wednesday Martin signed to play basketball for the Ottawa Braves. The coaching staff contacted her in the fall of 2023. A visit to campus and the program sealed the deal for the Indians all-time leading three point shot maker at 105.
Molly Martin
Martin's career high of 25 points scored in a game last season was the 5th highest single game total. She sits in the top ten in career points at 763. She tied a school record with seven assists in a single game and is fifth all-time in the assist category at 126.
Last season she collected 74 steals which was third most in a single season and needs to add one steal to her career total of 164 to tie the school record.
Martin has played in 65 games, starting 63 of those.
Coach Len Melvin
The Indians won their first WAC title since 2012 and had their first 15 game winning season over that same time frame. The Indians went 16-6 last year and 8-0 in conference play.
Hays High hasn't had a player from the girls' basketball team to sign at the college level since Paige Lunsford in 2012.
Martin is a three-time conference honoree. She was named to the second team as a freshman and sophomore and first team following her junior campaign.
Jaycee Oakley
Jaycee Oakley decided to focus solely on golf during her junior year. She spent the next year-plus improving her game to a level that has landed her the chance to stay in Hays and play at Fort Hays State University.
Jaycee Oakley
Oakley just finished a senior campaign that saw her place at the 5A State tournament for a third consecutive year. As a sophomore she finished 18th and was named to the Kansas Golf Coaches Association 5A Honorable Mention team.
A 13th place finish was at the end of her junior year. That year she was KGCA Second Team. That year the Indians finished second as a team at the two-day state tournament. This fall Oakley placed 9th at State and again made the KGCA Second Team.
Coach Mark Watts
Oakley has been on varsity her entire high school career. She averaged a score of 97.3 her first year. That score improved to 80.4 her senior season, fifth best for any season in program history. Oakley is a four time Western Athletic Conference honoree and Player of the Year as a senior. She was second team as a freshmen and first team the next three years.