CHARLESTON, S.C. – Charleston Southern announced
Tim Hays as Head Coach for Women's Basketball on Tuesday afternoon. Hays will become the 17th head coach in program history and joins the Buccaneers after a two-year stint as the Head Coach at LSU Shreveport.
Hays arrives in Charleston with 16 seasons of head coaching experience at the collegiate level. In total, he has accumulated an overall record of 373-121 (.755) and a mark against conference opponents of 257-67 (.793). He has advanced to postseason tournaments on ten separate occasions, has achieved nine conference tournament championships and claimed eight conference regular season titles. Under his watch, there have been 57 All-Conference honorees as well as six Conference Players of the Year and six Conference Defensive Players of the Year.
During his two years at his most recent stop, he led the program to an overall record of 54-8 as well as a 45-3 mark against conference opponents in the Red River Athletic Conference. LSU Shreveport claimed the Regular Season and Tournament titles to advance to the NAIA Tournaments in both campaigns while he earned Coach of the Year accolades as well. The Pilots reached a national ranking as high as #14 and achieved a program record GPA of 3.46. He coached eight student-athletes to All-Conference accolades and had two winners of Defensive Player of the Year, one Player of the Year and one Newcomer of the Year for the RRAC.
"We are proud to welcome Tim and Crista to Buc Nation," shared
Jeff Barber, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics. "Coach Hays brings an unprecedented record of wins at multiple schools while graduating his student athletes at a remarkably high rate. He embodies the mission of Charleston Southern and is dedicated to the development of his players. Additionally, he has a great passion for excellence and will energize our team, campus, and community. Today marks a new beginning of an exciting new chapter of Buccaneer basketball and we are truly excited to have him join our family."
Previously in his coaching journey, he worked for a season at the University of Colorado as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator in the 2022-23 season. While on their staff, the Buffalos had their best season in over 20 years as they went 25-9 and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, they finished the year ranked third in the PAC-12 along with rising as high as #19 in the national polls, collecting two wins over top 10 opponents and five over top 25.
"My wife Crista and I are blessed to be able to join the Buccaneer family. We have prayed for an opportunity to be a part of an elite athletic department who seeks to honor Christ outwardly. The quality of people at CSU is incredible. We love the Charleston community and believe there is no better place in the country to attract elite student-athletes. We want to thank
Jeff Barber,
Courtney Hall, and President Keith Faulkner for entrusting us with the privilege of leading this program. We cannot wait to get to get to work!"
His first stops as a Head Coach in college basketball came at Southeastern University (2016-22) and Colorado Christian University (2008-2016). While at Southeastern, the teams won all six Sun Conference Regular Season Championships, Sun Conference Tournament Championships and advanced to the NAIA Tournament in each season. In the national tournament, they reached the national championship game in 2018-19 and national semifinals in 2021-22. The team had an overall record of 176-13 and an undefeated 106-0 record against conference foes, and he remains the career wins leader at the university. In three different seasons, they achieved a #1 national ranking in the NAIA polls. The Fire had 31 players who received All-Conference honors, four Players of the Year, one Defensive Player of the Year and one National Player of the Year. There were 16 student-athletes of his that went on to earn professional contract offers. Also, they had a program-record GPA of 3.68.
"We are thrilled to welcome Coach Hays to CSU," said Keith B. Faulkner, President at Charleston Southern University. "He brings a history of coaching at the highest levels and winning at every level. Most importantly, Coach Hays has a heart for the Lord and a desire to build a team of humble winners and leaders on and off campus."
While at Colorado Christian, he was just as successful and was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 2021. He leads the school in career wins with 143-100 across his eight years. The team claimed the RMAC Tournament Championship in 2014-15 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament in that year as well as in 2010-11 with each of these marking program firsts. One of the crowning achievements of his time was claiming an NCCAA National Tournament Championship in 2011-12. In his final season, the Cougars broke the single season wins record as they collected 23 with this eclipsing the marks that they had already set in the seasons prior. They had 18 All-Conference selections to go with three Defensive Players of the year, two Freshmen of the Year and one Player of the Year. Lastly, they had a program record GPA of 3.74.
Other stops in his coaching career have included a stop in Australia in the WNBL with the Canberra Capitals (2007-2008) as an assistant coach. He also worked with the NBL1's Launceston Tornadoes (2006-2008) as the Head Coach with him being named Coach of the Year in his last season. His other stop in the Land Down Under was in the NWBU's as the Head Coach of the Devonport Warriors (2006-2007).
He began his coaching career at the collegiate level at Montana State University as an assistant coach for the women's basketball team from 2005-06. His first coaching job was at Meridian High School with the boys' varsity team while he worked as the Idaho State Director for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA).
Hays graduated from Northwest Nazarene University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Science in social work. He was a member of the men's basketball team for two years and finished in the top five in the nation in three-point percentage. He played his first two years at Boise State University and helped the team to a 1997-98 Big West Regular Season title. He starred in high school at La Grande High School in Oregon, where he was the state's leading scorer and earned USA Today All-America honors.
An introductory press conference is slated to be held next week. The details will be announced later in the week as information on it becomes finalized.
What they are saying about Charleston Southern Head Coach Tim Hays
Colorado Head Coach, JR Payne – Tim Hays is one of the most fearless recruiters in the game and a true competitor at his core. He is going to build something special. Charleston Southern will be in the championship conversation very soon.
Former Arizona State Head Coach and WBCA President, Charli Turner Thorne – Coach Hays is the total package! He has not only won everywhere he has ever been while being a transformative leader who genuinely cares about his players beyond basketball. He is a world class competitor with a heart of gold who I would recommend to every family looking for an amazing collegiate basketball experience.
Colorado Associate Head Coach, Toriano Towns – Tim Hays is one of the most accomplished coaching hires in the country! He is a relentless recruiter, a creative teacher, and an innovative game manager. When you examine his record one thing is for sure, wherever Coach Hays goes, success is sure to follow! The future of Charleston Southern Women's Basketball is very bright!
Author, speaker and President of Bechler Leadership, Jamy Bechler – All he does is win, period. Yes, he has been successful everywhere he has been and some records of his look like typos, but he just strives for excellence and does things the right way. He wins every day and fights for his culture daily, which leads to those amazing results. How you do anything is how you do everything. CSU has hired a strong leader in Tim Hays.
President BDS Agency, Brian Stanchak – Congratulations to Tim and to Charleston Southern. Tim has elevated programs and won everywhere he has coached. I am confident he will bring that same work ethic and championship approach to Charleston Southern.