A high school basketball player left the western suburbs of Chicago, Ill. to visit Winona State University. She knew an old teammate who she used to play with came to this place. That teammate was Lindsay Hahn, a former Warrior who put the school on her radar. She traveled to the campus for her first official visit, and it turned out to be her last. After her visit her choice became crystal clear, which set this young athlete on the path to a memorable career for purple and white. With one more chapter of her story to be told, Hailey Markworth begins her final season for the Warriors with goals to aspire to.
As part of Head Coach Anna Wertz’s first recruiting class as a head coach, Markworth grew with the program as time went along. She focused on building her game in practice, competing with the team and bettering herself in the process. She made 25 appearances throughout her rookie collegiate season, earning about five minutes in each contest she appeared in. Her most notable performance touted seven points on 50 percent from the field in only 14 minutes against Wayne State College on Feb. 23, 2021. A game that signified the continued improvement of Markworth game as the seasons went along.
If anybody had questions about her potential in her first year with the Warriors, Markworth’s second season shut down those concerns. She appeared in every single contest for the Warriors, earning starts in three separate contests. She had major improvements in minutes, points, rebounds and assists. She had another high against Wayne State, dropping 14 points against the Wildcats on 75 percent shooting on Dec. 8, 2023. The next step for Markworth’s accension came with the call up to the starting five.
If the previous two seasons gave people the signs that Markworth was capable of being a top player for the Warriors, then the 2024-25 season had to be a billboard. She started in every single contest for the Warriors, playing the role of ball handler and one of the top scorers for Winona State. She made another jump towards the top as her points-per-game increased to 11 per contest. She dropped her career high in points against Upper Iowa University, with 31 contributions to the Warriors win against the Peacocks. After the season, Markworth found the opportunity to be a leader for this team in multiple ways.
She spoke on her leadership role for the team this upcoming season.
“Just knowing that I am a core leader and people look at me, just gives me another level of confidence being who I am, and just playing. Especially when I’m older now, and I expect out of myself.”
The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) released their preseason players to watch for the 2025-26 regular season. Markworth was chosen as the Winona State’s player to watch from coaches of each conference team. With this honor, she takes the role of leading this team into the regular season with a lot to prove, but progression is how she has gotten to where she is now. A primary goal with this leadership is to help bring the basketball team back to the NSIC Tournament in late February. These aspirations all begin this week for the Warriors.
She elaborated on those goals,
“I’d say main goal is just as a team, you know, throughout my time here, we’ve always worked through season and gotten progressively better towards the end of the year, and then at the end of the year, we’re usually playing our best ball,”
Markworth will begin her final season against Southeastern Oklahoma State University on Nov. 14 at McCown Gymnasium. With the skills she acquired throughout her Winona State career, the LaGrange product will be ready for whatever’s next. As a leader, a player and as a role model, she enters her final season with all the tools to leave her mark.
