IU head coach Tracy Smith has made another addition to his staff, which was made up of only him and IU assistant coach Ty Neal two weeks ago.
Matt Hayes was announced today as IU's new volunteer assistant coach. He will work with outfielders and perform as first base coach for the Hoosiers in the 2009 season. In previous weeks, Ben Greenspan, son of former IU Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan, was also hired as assistant coach.
Hayes comes to IU after a six-year stint as an assistant at Division II Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C., and several years in the Coastal Plains League, which is a summer league for college baseball players. He was head coach of the Spartanburg Stingers and Forest City Owls, and also assistant coached for the Gastonia Grizzlies in that time.
At Limestone, Hayes helped lead the Saints to the Carolina-Virginia Athletic Conference Tournament Championship game three times, where they finished as runners-up in the 2003, 2005 and 2006 seasons. They also finished as regular-season champions in 2005.
Hayes' first coaching job was as an assistant coach in 2002 for his alma mater, Mars Hill College(N.C.), where he played for three seasons and was captain in his junior and senior seasons. He was also a player at Danville Area Community College in Illinois for a season.
The new position within IU's coaching staff marks a return to Indiana for the Brook, Ind. native, who graduated from Lawrence Central High School.
