Haley Smith had barely stepped off the court when the question followed her.
The celebration was still fresh as she turned toward the locker room, just seconds removed from another milestone. On Feb. 10, the Liberty Ranch senior guard eclipsed 1,000 career rebounds in a 73-11 rout of Bradshaw Christian.
Less than two weeks earlier, she cleared 2,000 career points in an 87-13 victory over Argonaut on Jan. 30.
Before she could slip inside, a reporter stopped her.
“What’s more impressive to you, 2,000 points or 1,000 rebounds?”
Smith didn’t pause.
“1,000 rebounds,” she said. “No question about it.”
It’s why she was named the 2025 California State Division IV Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Why her name sits atop 18 girls basketball school records. Why she helped deliver the program’s first CIF Sac-Joaquin Section championship and four straight Sierra Valley Conference titles. Why she became the second volleyball player in school history to reach 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs. Why she’s the school’s No. 1 singles tennis player. Why she serves as swim team captain. Why she maintains a 4.6 GPA.
And why the story doesn’t end there.
“For the position she plays — and she’s not an inch over 5-foot-10 — that’s just heart,” her mother, Janet Smith, said. “A lot of great scorers watch when a shot goes up and wait for the outlet to cherry-pick. Not Haley. She’s fighting for the rebound. She’d rather secure it and advance it than go coast to coast. She’s always trying to do what’s right for her team. It perfectly encapsulates her high school career.
“Some people talk the talk. Others walk the walk. That’s Haley. She walks the walk, and that’s why she deserves everything she’s gotten.”
Although Liberty Ranch’s bid to repeat as CIF Sac-Joaquin Section champion ended in a 63-53 semifinal loss to West Campus on Feb. 24, Smith went out the way she always does.
As the best teammate possible.
She finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and four assists, shooting 5-of-12 from the field.
Liberty Ranch earned the No. 4 seed in the CIF State Division IV tournament and opens March 3 against No. 13 Santa Cruz in the first round.
“I always tell her I hope kids get the chance to watch you play before you leave,” Janet said. “The tenacity and sheer willpower she brings to everything she’s done is rare. People see the accomplishments, but they don’t see the story behind them. They see 13 varsity letters and don’t understand the work it took to earn them. They see the points and assume she’s about herself.
“That’s why her story matters. It’s never been about the awards or the stats. It’s about the work and who she is as a person. Everything she says she wants, she backs it up. That’s the example athletes should follow.”
‘I should be one of those people’
Athletics are part of the family fabric.
Janet played collegiate basketball at Cal from 1998 to 2002. Her father, Corey, a 1997 Galt graduate, was ranked the No. 9 tight end in the country before continuing his football career at Cal.
The list continues.
Janet’s younger sister played basketball at UC Santa Barbara. Her older brother suited up in football and baseball at Harvard. Her younger brother competed in tennis at Whittier College.
“It was nice having two collegiate parents,” Haley said. “My mom averaged 38 points in high school and broke records in San Diego. She was my biggest inspiration growing up. My dad was also a stud football player. When your whole family has played at the next level, you feel that early.
“From a young age, I felt like I should be one of those people.”
Her younger sister, Liberty Ranch freshman Lacey, and older brother, Cody, felt it, too.
“My parents didn’t go to college,” Janet said. “Because of that, they pushed all of us to find our own path to get there. They always preached that you should never be satisfied unless you can lay your head down at night knowing you gave everything you had. That’s what I’ve tried to pass on to my kids — whether it’s in the classroom, in sports or in how they treat people. If you can sleep at night knowing you gave your best effort, that’s enough.
“And I think they’ve all lived that.”
‘Whatever it took to top him’
Parents can only take them so far.
By high school, the responsibility shifts. Motivation becomes internal. The choice of how great to be becomes personal.
The one-on-one battles with 6-foot-7 Cody. The free-throw contests with Janet. The daily competition with Lacey in whatever sport filled the afternoon.
Those moments — reinforced by steady reminders at home — built something lasting.
Effort didn’t need to be mentioned. It was understood.
“I’ve always given Haley constructive criticism, even after a great game,” Janet said. “But I’ve never had to question her effort. No one can say a bad word about her as a teammate because she respects the game and gives it everything she has.”
Then came 2023.
Cody helped lead the basketball program to its first-ever section title during Haley’s freshman year. One year later, he committed to play football at Ball State.
“She was already an elite competitor,” Janet said. “But that raised the standard. She wanted a blue banner. She wanted to play in college. She wanted to do whatever it took to top him.”
‘I wouldn’t be who I am without all of them’
Multitasking became the formula.
While Cody was on the verge of his moment, Haley was quietly figuring out how to manage her own climb.
Her freshman varsity volleyball season closed, and she shifted straight into varsity basketball. She averaged 17.3 points per game, poured in 451 total points and helped deliver just the second league championship in program history.
From the outside, it appeared seamless. In reality, she was juggling varsity basketball while still playing travel club volleyball.
“It was probably one of the hardest times of my life,” Haley said. “I’d go straight from high school basketball practice to volleyball practice. On weekends, I had club volleyball tournaments in other states. Then I’d come back for games. It was crazy.”
Somehow, she managed. She closed her freshman year competing on the varsity swim team and, in the process, embraced the grind.
All of it set the stage for a sophomore season when her own moments began to emerge.
She earned her first SVC volleyball all-league first-team honor, carrying that confidence straight into basketball and club volleyball season.
On Feb. 6, 2024, in a 62-36 win over Rosemont, she secured a second straight league title and crossed the 1,000-point mark — just one game after reaching 500 career rebounds.
A few months later, Rage club volleyball finished 30th nationally and advanced to the national championship tournament.
It would be her final run in club volleyball.
“Volleyball was her first love,” Janet said. “She’s very talented. She’s just not over 6 feet tall. If she were, I think she’d be playing Division I college volleyball. She’s that good.”
Haley added, “Playing all these sports has helped me in life. It’s taught me how to multitask. There are skills in some sports that go hand in hand with others. It’s all interconnected. I wouldn’t be who I am without all of them.”
The glue
The moment she had chased was finally in front of her.
Liberty Ranch volleyball rolled through the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division IV playoffs, earning a spot in the program’s first section championship without dropping a set.
Ripon was next. Three sets decided it — just not the way Liberty Ranch had hoped.
On Nov. 9, 2024, the banner went elsewhere.
Even so, as a junior, Liberty Ranch secured the No. 1 seed in the CIF State Division IV tournament before falling in the regional semifinals.
“It was hard to lose,” Haley said. “To get that far and come up short hurts. I knew I’d do whatever I could to help us get back there.”
She meant it.
Fresh off her first SVC league MVP season — 19.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game — Smith was staring at the moment again.
On Feb. 27, 2025, she delivered. Twenty-six points. Eight rebounds. Six of 12 from the field.
Liberty Ranch defeated Riverbank 55-50, and the long-awaited section banner — the first in program history — finally belonged to them.
“She’s always wanted to hang as many banners as she could for her team,” Janet said. “Bringing something back to her school is what drives her — more than any individual award. That’s what makes it special.”
More accolades followed.
California State Division IV Player of the Year. 1,000 digs. 1,000 kills. 2,000 points. 1,000 rebounds.
She even picked up tennis just to play with Lacey — and in her first season, she’s already the No. 1 singles player.
But the awards were never the point. The team was.
“I want to be remembered as the one who brings teams together,” Haley said. “The glue, as they call it. I don’t care about the spotlight. I care about being a great teammate.
“I don’t want my legacy to be a banner or a stat line. I want it to be that I made the people around me better. That I made people smile. That I was someone they could count on. To me, those lifelong friendships mean more than anything else.”
This article originally appeared on The Record: Beyond 2,000 points, Haley Smith is Liberty Ranch’s multi-sport ‘glue’
Reporting by Dylan Ackermann, The Stockton Record / The Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
