Playing with Passion
Camryn Edens
Section D, Seat 4. One seat out of the 12,380 in ExtraMile Arena, making all the difference for Boise State women’s basketball senior Dani Bayes.
DIAGNOSIS & KIDNEY CANCER AWARENESS GAME 2025
Dani learned about her father Leon’s kidney cancer diagnosis in May 2024, just after making the long journey home to Australia from the United States. The news was devastating. Doctors gave Leon a 50-50 chance of survival. Later, they told him the disease was incurable.
As his health declined, Dani dreaded the moment she would have to leave him again to return to Boise State for her junior season. She knew her father - he wouldn’t let her stay. Instead, Leon made her a promise: he would fight the disease with everything he had, as long as she continued pursuing her dream in America.
So Dani returned to Boise.
She locked in on team goals, pushed herself in the gym and poured her energy into getting better. Coaches noticed and were impressed by how much she had improved.
Dani wasn’t alone in her journey though. Boise State women’s basketball alumna Jayda Clark was navigating the same heartbreak. Her father, Jay, passed away on Jan. 5, 2024, after a battle with kidney cancer.
The two leaned on each other, bonded by shared grief. Nearly a year after her father’s passing, Jayda knew she wanted to honor him in a meaningful way. She approached Dani with an idea, a Kidney Cancer Awareness game, and Dani immediately agreed.
On March 4, 2025, Boise State hosted its Kidney Cancer Awareness game, a night that brought together Dani and Jayda’s two loves, basketball and family.
Orange, the color symbolizing the fight against kidney cancer, filled the arena. The team wore orange uniforms with orange ribbons tied into their hair. It was a small gesture, but it meant everything to Dani and Jayda.
Graduate assistant Maggie Cornelius went a step further, decorating two seats in the stands, one for Jay and another for Leon.
Leon watched from Australia as Dani played in his honor. The Broncos closed out the regular season with a 72-59 win over Utah State, but the night carried a purpose far greater than the final score. It represented a fight that no one fought alone.
LEARNING MORE
Growing up, Leon was always hard on Dani. It was his way of setting her up for success, and building the habits and values that shaped who she is today. They weren’t big talkers, but that never weakened their bond. Leon watched every one of her games from Australia, wearing his lucky Hawaiian shirt.
After the 2025 Mountain West Women’s Basketball Championship, Dani traveled to Canada with her sister for a spring break vacation. That trip took a sudden turn when she lost her passport. Panic set in and in the middle of the chaos, Leon called.
He asked her to come home.
On the final day of the trip, Dani found her passport. She flew back to Australia immediately and learned that the doctors said there were no more options left. Within two weeks of her arrival, Leon passed away.
Choosing to grieve in her own way, Dani returned to Boise earlier than expected, spending only a month at home in Australia. She threw herself back into basketball, working out with assistant coaches Cariann Ramirez and Jackie Robinson, not to escape the pain, but to survive it.
“I jumped back into everything as a distraction,” Dani said. “With everything happening so fast, I’ve never had to face it. It just happened.”
Leon never accepted the idea that he was dying, even when doctors said there was nothing left they could do.
I think that fight in him, never giving up, was really inspiring. It’s something I want to take into my own life.Dani Bayes
KIDNEY CANCER AWARENESS GAME 2026
Dani’s hard work over the summer soon proved to be worth it in her senior season. In the Broncos’ third game of the season, the senior put up a career-high 31 points against UC Davis on Nov. 14, 2025. She continued to be a consistent scorer for the Broncos, reaching double figures in 11 of the team’s 17 games.
When Boise State hosted another Kidney Cancer Awareness game on Jan. 14, 2026, Cornelius once again decorated seats in honor of Dani’s and Jayda’s fathers.
Dani said she was grateful for the experience, but seeing that chair made everything real. There was no distraction left. She had to face her grief head on.
Her dad was gone. But, her mom got to be there, flying over 7,500 miles from Australia. Seeing Dani’s support system, the love in the stands, the people surrounding her daughter, brought peace. Dani’s mom even made friends in the crowd, soaking in the American college experience that Dani gets to live.
Dani led the Broncos to a 77-40 win over Wyoming, finishing with a game-high 15 points. Jayda watched from the stands, proud of the growth the both had made through the past two years.
SUPPORT SYSTEM
Through it all, Dani hasn’t been alone. Her relationship with Jayda has become one of the most meaningful parts of her time at Boise State. Both far from home, both living versions of the same story, they found each other for a reason.
Looking back at it now, I know that I was meant to be at Boise State. I wouldn’t have been able to come back as strong as I did, or even process the grief as well as I did without Jayda.Dani Bayes
Dani never had the chance to talk with her dad about what he wanted for her future. While it still sits as a what-if for her, deep down she knows what her dad would say: Never give up. Take every opportunity. As cliche as it sounds, “The world is your oyster,” he always told her.
While those grieving emotions can still be overwhelming, and sometimes guilt-ridden, having someone who understood helped her feel less alone.
Her teammates and coaches have been just as supportive. Last Christmas, the staff found a way to get Dani home for four days. Throughout the ordeal, they check in and listen. But most importantly, they allow her to be honest.
“Showing up for myself,” Dani said. “It’s a reason for me to show up.”
LOOKING AHEAD
This season, Dani’s goals are clear.
“I want to win a championship,” she said. “I want to be the best I can be so we can be the best.”
The team gives her a reason to keep going. She shows up for them the way they show up for her.