Former Bradley head coach Amy Hayes is joining the coaching staff at UC Santa Barbara.
Hayes announced the news on social media on Monday; she will serve as the pitching coach and lead assistant on Jo Evans‘ inaugural coaching staff at UCSB.
“I have accepted the position of Assistant Softball Coach [at UCSB] under the direction of legendary Hall of Famer, Jo Evans,” Hayes wrote. “Couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity. It’s going to be something special. Â Let’s Goooooo #Gauchos.”
At her introductory press conference in July, Evans did not reveal Hayes’ name but did discuss her resume and why she had hired her to lead the Gauchos’ pitching staff.
“She’s been a head coach for over twenty years, so that allows me to bring in experience and have a good sounding board,” Evans revealed at the time. “Someone to go back and forth with on ideas and vision… to me, it’s going to be a really balanced staff with expertise at these really specific skills.”
Hayes spent the last fourteen seasons as the head coach at Bradley, collecting a 295-396 overall record during her tenure. The Braves were 140-195 in the Missouri Valley Conference in that same period. In 2009, Hayes led the Braves to their first-ever NCAA tournament appearance and repeated the postseason feat in 2014.
Prior to taking over at Bradley, Hayes was the head coach at Portland State and Boston University, leading both programs to the NCAA tournament. Her resume also includes stints as an assistant coach at Oregon and Virginia Tech.
