James Hays begins his 2nd year as the full time head coach, after serving as the interim head coach during the 2016-17 season. Hays becomes the third head coach in history of the Owls Men’s Basketball program, which was started in 2007. He was named Head Coach of the program on April 4th, 2017.
This past season, Hays guided the Owls back to the AMC tournament. The Owls earned their third straight NAIA All-American honor. Coach Hays coached 2 more AMC All-Conference selections.
Since Hays has joined the Owls, he has recruited and coached 8 AMC All-Conference players and 3 consecutive NAIA All-Americans
Hays guided the Owls to its best finish in the AMC during the 2016-17 with a tied for third place finish. The Owls won a program record 22 games during the season and earned its second ever NAIA All-American. He coached three All-AMC selections in 2016-17.
Prior to being named the head coach, Hays served as the assistant coach for the men’s basketball team for three years.
As an assistant coach at WWU, Hays recruited six AMC All-Conference selections and two NAIA All-American. He helped lead the team to the most wins in a single season in program history and to earn the Owls first ever NAIA Top 25 ranking.
Hays joined the Owls, after spending the 2013-14 season as an assistant coach at Fort Scott Community College. There, he led the team to its first conference title since 1967, first Region 6 title and an Elite 8 appearance at the NJCAA Division II National Tournament.
While at FSCC, Hays was in charge of individual workouts, study hall and strength and conditioning. He also assisted in other daily operations that included, recruiting, academic progress, practice, in-game coaching and scouting reports.
Prior to FSCC, Hays was the head coach for the Missouri Homeschool Mavericks varsity basketball team for three seasons. He also spent one year as an assistant coach on the varsity team at Fulton High School (2011-12).
Hays, is a 2012 graduate from Westminster College, where he played collegiality there and graduated with a major in Sports Marketing and Finance, while also earning a minor in Coaching. Hays is a graduate of the Masters of Education in Athletic Administration from William Woods.
James and his wife Markayla, reside in Columbia with their son Grayson.
