Larry Hays Achieves Coaching Milestone

Hays becomes one of only four coaches in NCAA history to reach 1,500th career win.

Athletics

Written by Blayne Beal

Larry Hays has spent 22 of his 38 coaching years at Texas Tech. He achieved 1,500 career wins at Dan Law Field on April 2.

Baseball Coach Larry Hays became only the fourth coach in NCAA history to reach 1,500 wins in a career when his Red Raiders notched a 10-5 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi April 2 at Dan Law Field.

Hays, the winningest coach in school history, joins elite company with the win as only Texas' Augie Garrido, Wichita State's Gene Stephenson and Florida State's Mike Martin have reached this milestone.

Hays is in his 38th season as a head coach, and all 38 of those years have been spent in Lubbock, leading the Lubbock Christian Chaparrals for 16 years and the Red Raiders for 22.

Coaching History

When Hays took over the Texas Tech baseball program in the fall of 1986, he inherited an unusual situation. Prior to Hays’ arrival, the program had an overall record of 550-576 through 37 years of play, meaning Hays had plenty of work cut out for him just to get the team to the .500 mark.

In his first season, Hays had to endure one more losing season as the Red Raiders went 21-28. But that didn't last long. Hays started the turnaround the next season by leading the team to a 34-25-1 campaign in 1988. The once-ignored college baseball program on the South Plains was under the leadership of a new skipper and it's been full steam ahead ever since.

Hays has led the Red Raiders to three conference championships and nine NCAA tournament appearances. He led the team to its first-ever Big 12 Conference regular season championship with a 23-7 conference and 46-14 overall record in 1997. Texas Tech also claimed the No. 1 ranking in collegiate baseball for several weeks, the first time a Red Raider sport was ranked No. 1 in school history.

Hays also guided the Red Raiders to their first-ever Southwest Conference championship in 1995 as they posted a school-record 51 wins (51-14) and advanced to the Midwest I Region championship game.

In his 38 years as a college head coach, he has produced 20 teams that have surpassed at least 40 wins. He has led teams to 12 league titles and guided his 1983 Lubbock Christian University team to the National NAIA Championship.

The Honors

Hays is also highly regarded by his coaching peers. He has been honored as Coach of the Year following nine different seasons including the 1997 season when he was selected Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year by the Big 12 coaches, the Dallas Morning News and the Austin American-Statesman. Plus, he has been inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame.

It all started for Hays as a standout athlete in both baseball and basketball at Dora High School in New Mexico. From there he went on to Lubbock Christian Junior College where he lettered in both sports and earned an associate degree in 1964. He then attended Eastern New Mexico where he earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

Hays then took over the Lubbock Christian head basketball coaching reins in 1969 and in 1970 and helped start baseball as the school made strides to move from junior college to senior college status. While at the Chap controls he compiled a 695-381-1 record and led Lubbock Christian to eight NAIA District titles, two Area championships and the 1983 national title. He served as the school's Athletic Director from 1979 until he departed for Texas Tech in 1986. During his eight-year stint as athletic director, he served as chairman of the NAIA Baseball Rating Committee. Lubbock Christian rewarded Hays and his family as the school renamed its field "Hays Field" in a ceremony on April 20, 1999.

Among his more noteworthy Lubbock Christian and civic accomplishments was spearheading the effort to bring the NAIA World Series to Lubbock for three years from 1981-83. The Series became an official success in its final season of 1983 as the Chaps won the national title in front of the home crowd.

Hays and his wife Nell have been married for 43 years. They have five children and 11 grandchildren.

Related

2008 Texas Tech Baseball Schedule

Baseball Team Snags New Coaches