Jayla Scaife

Classroom

Jayla Scaife has grown immensely in the classroom in her time at Dayton. She struggled to adjust to the transition of college sports and the time management aspect of being a student-athlete, but she has developed into just that, a student. She was even recently accepted into graduate school as she completes her degree in psychology, a challenging major at the University of Dayton. Scaife now does extra study hall hours and makes sure to set an example for younger student-athletes that you have to get the work done in the classroom before you can be effective on the court. Her academic advisors will admit that she didn’t start out as a diligent student-athlete, but has overcome those struggles to help build a resume for her future career aspirations.

Character

As a reserved kid coming in, Scaife has had to learn to grow and develop into a vocal leader. Previously leading by example, she has had to overcome those obstacles and now serves as a role model, not only for her teammates, but younger student-athletes as well. Her tenacity and passion comes across in her approach to the game and willingness to learn. She took the experience from playing for the USA Basketball Game Pan-American Games trials as a chance to learn and grow her game. She was not selected for the team, but she was able to take a positive outlook and will use that going into her senior year. From a discreet freshman to now the focal point of the team and the leader for the Flyers, her character has grown both on and off the floor.

Community

As the team captain, Scaife has helped the team be more active in the community and philanthropic projects around the city of Dayton. Growing up as the daughter of a preacher, she has been instilled with values of kindness and giving back. Scaife and the Flyers participate in numerous community service projects such as the Buddy Walk for Down Syndrome, the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, Christmas on Campus, Ronald McDonald’s House, and Rebuilding Dayton. The University’s four pillars form a blueprint for the students, of which one is philanthropy. Nobody better epitomizes that then Scaife. Not only has she been able to make an impact on the floor, but also in the Dayton community.

Competition

Scaife has been an offensive threat since joining the Flyers in 2016-17 as a freshman. In just three seasons, she has already amassed 1,063 points, only the 27th player in program history to do so. She earned an invite this summer to the USA Basketball Pan-American Games team trials where she competed with the best players in the country. Scaife was First Team All-Conference last season and was selected to the preseason First Team All-Conference going into this year. She has also earned All-Conference, All-Championship, All-Tournament, Most Improved Player and All-Rookie team in her three-year career. Last season, she was named team MVP and led the Flyers with 15.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while standing at just 5’10. Scaife has appeared in 87 games for Dayton and will carry the load this year as a senior and team captain.