ZEPHYRHILLS, Fla. - Maya Llanes is a natural born leader.

But on the basketball court, she leads more with her play than her mouth.

“She’s kind of a quiet leader most of the time,” said Head Coach Chris Smith. “But when she gets fired up, she’s ready to go and everybody knows it’s time to go.”

There’s a lot of get up and go in this Zephyrhills High senior’s game. From a very young age, sports has provided an outlet for Maya to shine.

“My family’s very athletic, so I’ve always played sports throughout my life,” she said. “And then I got in middle school and I was like, oh, I can finally try out for a basketball team. So,  I just went ahead and did it.”

And she does it well. Maya leads her Bulldogs team is scoring and steals. Averaging nearly 17 points per game, she sets herself apart on the court not just with her consistency, but with her love of the game.

“I think it’s just her heart and determination,” Smith said. “She doesn’t accept anything but winning when she’s on the court.”

She plans on winning at the next level. Maya has several college offers and dreams of playing Division I basketball. She’ll continue following the path hoops has lead her down.

“Playing the sports that I’ve played, especially playing basketball, it’s like made me a lot stronger mentally,” Mays said. “I can’t back down to a challenge. 

“And putting in work and taking the extra time and sacrificing all the things I could have been doing as a regular high schooler, it’s going to be worth everything when I get older.”