The way Beckham Bayles’ high school basketball journey began was one to remember. According to his dad, coaches weren’t as sure of Beckham’s potential as a freshman. But, one certain event as a sophomore shot his son on his way up the Cyprus Pirates boys basketball team’s depth chart.

“He was the skinny kid who always worked hard but was overlooked,” said Russ Bayles. “Sophomore year, Cyprus went down to St. George for a tournament and almost the whole team got suspended … except for Beckham and Koli (Fosita) and a couple others. In fact, Dixie beat us by like 70 points … When the season started, coach Tre (Smith) had to play him because they had no choice. His first six games he scored 25 points or something like that, and the rest is history. Became a starter and never looked back.”

Beckham Bayles never did, averaging 9.8 points as a sophomore. As a junior, his average ballooned to 17 points per game to lead all scorers on the Pirates, earning an All-State Honorable Mention in the process. As a senior, Bayles scored 16 points per game, five rebounds and four assists, and was also one of Utah’s top 20 players in three-point shooting percentage (43.3) and steals, with two.

It’s a process that Russ Bayles credited to Beckham’s work ethic and desire to become great from an early age.

“He’s had trainers and wanted to play basketball since he was 5,” said Russ Bayles. “Never wanted to lose, has embarrassed us many times for crying so hard after losing (games) but I always knew it would benefit him someday. His desire to never lose is like Kobe or Michael. 4.0 student his whole high school career, should be valedictorian.”

It was a work ethic, according to his father, that also influenced his Pirates teammates.

“We never have to tell him to go workout or go shoot,” said his father. “It’s all him, he will be a coach’s dream and has turned the Cyprus program around. Especially, academically, I think the team had a 3.4 average.”

When dealing with college coaches, it’s important to understand that most, if not all, tend to look beyond the numbers. They’re also looking for other ways you can shape a game. Are you coachable? Can you lead a team in ways that will benefit the group outside of the basketball court?

The leadership qualities that Bayles had, according to his dad, was something that Southwestern Oregon Community College head coach Riley Grandinetti saw from the outset.

“Coach Riley has been in touch with him since the beginning. Reaching out weekly to just see how he was doing, never put pressure on him,” said Russ Bayles. “We went on a visit and he liked the facilities—especially the fact that he can go shoot 24/7. Watched some games and was impressed by their coaching but also saw kids could make mistakes and were left in the game to learn. Saw the bench players involved in the whole game cheering them on.”

On Feb. 18, Bayles committed to SWOCC, based in Coos Bay, Oregon. Bayles joins Cyprus graduate MJ Tia as a recent Southwestern commit; Tia just completed his sophomore year at SWOCC, and poured in 22 points to help the Lakers to a 72-66 victory in the NWAC Tournament’s Sweet 16 March 4. 

In addition, Bayles had offers to CNCC, Green River, Wenatchee Valley and Clackamas, according to his father.

In addition to Bayles, his Pirates senior teammate Koli Fosita is currently weighing several offers from colleges in the NWAC and elsewhere. Cyprus’ leading scorer and senior averaged 18 points, six rebounds and four assists per game. Fosita, committed to Green River College in Auburn, Washington, was recently selected to play in and competed at the 5A-6A All-Star Game at Olympus High School.