Chris Hayes enters his fifth season on the staff after playing under head coach Terry Alexander from 1992-95.

The first to get on the field and the last to leave as a player, Hayes carries that same dedication with his duties as the program's recruiting coordinator while also working with the Dolphin defense and offense.

Admired by coaches and players alike, Hayes left his mark on the Dolphin program as a player, and now, as a coach.

After serving as recruiting coordinator in his first two seasons at JU, Hayes enhanced his skills under the direction of Tim Montez in 2006. Now with Hayes reclaiming the title in 2007, the two-headed monster is one of the top recruiting machines in the nation.

The hard work has been recognized as JU had each of its last two classes ranked in Collegiate Baseball's Top 40 Poll. During that time, the Dolphins have also reached the NCAA Regionals in back-to-back seasons for the second time in program history.

Last season, JU posted a fielding percentage of better than .960 in three straight years for the first time since 1993-95 and his offense has registered more than 85 stolen bases in three of the last four seasons. Individually, outfielder Pete Clifford ended his stellar career under the tutelage of Hayes by earning All-America, all-region and A-Sun "Player of the Year" accolades. Clifford was eventually selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 20th round of the MLB Draft.

In 2006, the Dolphins led the conference in assists (725) and ranked second with 59 double-plays and a .962 fielding percentage.

Offensively, JU had the second most hits in program history (692) and the fifth-best team batting average (.314), which was the highest since the 1997 season. The Dolphins also scored the most runs (450) since plating 489 runners in 1991.

The Dolphins also received individual accolades at the plate when third baseman Daniel Murphy was named A-Sun "Player of the Year" after finishing with a .398 batting average. Due to his success, he was drafted by the New York Mets in the 13th round of the MLB Draft.

Hayes also helped guide first baseman Gordie Gronkowski to a career season after posting a .358 batting average with a team-high 88 hits.

Gronkowski, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Angels, also tallied the second-highest hitting streak in program history (26), which was one game behind Hayes' former teammate Talmadge Nunnari.

In 2005, the Dolphins ranked second in the A-Sun with a .964 fielding percentage and errors committed.

Prior to joining Alexander's staff, Hayes spent three years as an assistant coach at Wolfson High School in Jacksonville from 2001-03, where he w­orked with the defense, while also instructing the hitters. Wolfson won the district championship in 2002 and 2003, while earning a No. 12 national ranking at the end of the 2003 season.

Wolfson was also ranked in the top 10 in the state every year of Hayes' tenure, while seven of his players received college scholarships. Two of his coaching prospects are former first-round selections and are primed to make their debuts at the major league level. Eric Hurley is a top prospect with the Texas Rangers organization, while Billy Butler spent his first year with the Kansas City Royals in 2007.

Prior to his coaching career, Hayes spent six seasons (1995-2000) with the Toronto Blue Jays organization after being drafted in the 28th round of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft. Hayes played every infield and outfield position in five seasons with the Blue Jays' minor league system, hitting .281 with 91 doubles, 14 triples, 27 home runs and 215 RBI.

Hayes also made stops in St. Catherines, Ontario; Hagerstown, Md.; Dunedin, Fla.; and Knoxville, Tenn. while in the minors.

Hayes was a four-year starter at JU from 1992-95, twice earning all-Sun Belt Conference honors, while also earning all-regional accolades as a junior. Hayes led the Dolphins to their only consecutive NCAA Regional appearances (1994, 1995) in school history and still ranks third all-time at JU in RBI (176) and fourth in at-bats (802), hits (271), doubles (53) and total bases (402), while ranking sixth in games played (216) and ninth in runs (163).

As a senior in 1995, Hayes earned second-team all-conference honors after leading the team with 54 runs and 60 RBI. As a junior, Hayes earned all-conference and all-regional honors after leading the conference in hits (89) and doubles (21), while leading the team with a .369 batting average and 49 RBI as the Dolphins advanced to the regional final in Tallahassee.

In addition to his high school coaching experience, Hayes has been an instructor at numerous baseball camps at Jacksonville University with coach Alexander and at the University of Florida with former coach Pat McMahon. He has also been featured as a presenter at the annual Florida Atlantic Coaches Association Baseball Convention.

Hayes, who resides in Jacksonville, earned his bachelor's degree in finance in 1995 and his MBA in 2007 at JU.