MSU Denver Athletics

Brannon Hays enters his fourth season at Metro State with an overall record of 74-20, including a 28-win season and an NCAA Tournament berth in his first at the helm in 2006-07 and a 27-4 season with another NCAA Tournament berth in 2008-09 to earn RMAC East Division Coach of the Year honors.

Last winter, Hays led Metro State to its second-best record in school history in the RMAC, an 18-1 record, and a regular season and conference tournament championship. The Roadrunners were upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by defending national champion and seventh seed, Winona State. Senior forward Jesse Wagstaff earned third team All-America honors and was named first team Academic All-America, graduating in May, 2009, with 4.00 GPA in civil engineering technology. Wagstaff was also named the RMAC Player of the Year and RMAC Academic Player of the Year in 2009.

In his second season in 2007-08, Hays guided a young squad to a 19-12 overall finish and a third-place finish in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) East Division.

In his first year at Metro State in 2006-07, Metro State posted a 28-4 record, including 17-2 in the RMAC, and regular season and RMAC Tournament championships in the conference. Michael Bahl earned first team All-RMAC honors.

In his three years as head coach at Metro State, Hays has had 10 players named to the All-RMAC East Division teams and two players earn first team All-RMAC. Additionally, seven players have earned academic honors from the RMAC.

Hays was named interim head coach in August 2006 after former head coach Mike Dunlap resigned prior to the start of the school year. However, the program did not miss a beat as Hays led the Roadrunners to a 28-4 overall record and another NCAA Tournament appearance. Metro State won the RMAC Tournament and regular season titles along the way, while posting school records for three-point percentage (.441) and three-point field goals in a single season (298). Hays was rewarded for his success by being named the permanent head coach in the spring of 2007.

Hays served as an assistant coach under Dunlap during the 2005-06 season, returning to Metro State for his second stint. He helped lead the Roadrunners to a 21-10 mark and their ninth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

Prior to his return to Metro State, Hays spent five seasons as the head coach at Colorado Christian. While he was in Lakewood, Colo., Hays led the Cougars to their first-ever appearance in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II national top 25 poll. The Cougars ranked No. 1 in field-goal percentage and three-point percentage nationally and advanced to the RMAC tournament three times. In the five years prior to Hays’ arrival, Colorado Christian went just 32-101 overall, while the Cougars went 58-78 under Hays, including a 19-9 mark in both 2003-04 and 2004-05.

Before his appointment at Colorado Christian, Hays served three years as an assistant under Dunlap at Metro State. Hays served as an assistant during the Roadrunners’ 1999-2000 national championship season and Metro State posted an overall record of 61-10 during his tenure.

Hays has also served as the strength and conditioning coach for the Colorado Explosion (1999) and was an assistant at Cal Lutheran under Dunlap. Other experience includes serving as an assistant coach in the Australian League for Adelaide, a top professional team, and also serving as head coach for the Norwood Basketball Club.

Hays played college basketball at Cal Lutheran under head coach Dunlap, before serving as a volunteer coach on Dunlap’s staff. Hays graduated from Cal Lutheran in 1993, earning a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems with a minor in coaching. He went on to earn a master’s of sport science with an emphasis in sports coaching from the United States Sports Academy in 2005.

A native of Chula Vista, Calif., Hays and his wife, Lori, have two children, Harrison and Adison. 

Hays' Collegiate Head Coaching Record