Aug. 24, 2006
SAN DIEGO - Sara Hayes, who helped the University of the Pacific to its 11th consecutive winning season in 2006, has been named an assistant softball coach at San Diego State, head coach Kathy Van Wyk announced on Thursday.
"We are excited to add Sara to the Aztec staff," Van Wyk said. "She has a great deal of coaching experience at the college level, both as an assistant and as a head coach, and has done a tremendous job wherever she has been. She will be an excellent role model for our student-athletes and will represent San Diego State in the highest fashion."
Hayes, a native of nearby Rancho Sante Fe, Calif., has been the Tigers' top assistant coach for the past two seasons, helping the squad to a 56-50 record.
"I am thrilled to be a part of the Aztec family," Hayes said. "San Diego State softball has such a rich tradition and I look forward to furthering the success of the program. I am also happy to move closer to home and to be in the same city with my sister and my parents."
Prior to going to Pacific, Hayes served as Indiana's head softball coach from 2003-04. She compiled a 51-62 overall record in her two years, including a 32-31 mark in 2004, the team's first winning campaign since 1996.
Hayes previously served as head coach at Northern Iowa from 2001-02, where she logged a 58-59 record. In 2002, she led the Panthers to their first winning season since 1998, and coached a third baseman to the program's first All-America first team selection.
As an assistant coach at DePaul from 1996-2000, Hayes helped lead the Blue Demons to a 265-101 (.742) record, five NCAA Regional appearances and two Women's College World Series (WCWS) bids, the first two WCWS trips in school history. She was part of the coaching staff named NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year in 1999 and NFCA Midwest Coaching Staff of the Year in 1998 and 2000. As a player, Hayes was a standout at the University of Notre Dame as a catcher, third baseman, and outfielder. She was the 1995 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year and a three-time all-mideast region selection. Hayes was the Irish MVP as a junior and senior when the team earned trips to the NCAA regionals. She left Notre Dame as the school's all-time leader in 10 offensive categories and the holder of eight single-season school records. Hayes earned a bachelor's degree in anthropology from Notre Dame in 1995.