CCU’s Larry Hays Elected to the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame
Colorado Christian University head women’s softball coach, Larry Hays, has been selected to the 2023 New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame. Hays joins the hall as one of the most successful college softball and baseball coaches.
“This is an unbelievable honor to be inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame,” said Hays. “My life was blessed to grow up in Dora, New Mexico, and attend Eastern New Mexico University.”
At CCU, Hays has led the softball team to heights previously unseen. The Cougars have captured back-to-back Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tournament titles. Hays was named the RMAC coach of the year in 2022 and 2023. CCU is currently No. 14 in the Division II coaches poll.
“Larry Hays is a consummate leader both on the diamond and in everyday life,” said Brian Wall, CCU athletics director. “Colorado Christian is blessed to have Coach Hays as a member of the Cougar community.”
Prior to joining CCU in 2018, Hays served as the head baseball coach at Lubbock Christian University from 1972-1986, compiling an overall record of 695-381 on his way to winning the 1983 NAIA national baseball championship. In 1987, he was hired as the head coach at Texas Tech University. He went on to win more than 800 games with the Red Raiders and became only the fourth college baseball coach to reach the 1,500 wins milestone before retiring in 2008. Hays returned to the diamond, first as an assistant and then as the head softball coach at Lubbock Christian University, helping the LCU softball team win a national title in 2010.
Hays was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1991, the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001, and the National College Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012 while also having his number retired at Texas Tech University and the baseball facility at Lubbock Christian University being named after him and his family.
Hays will be inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame on June 23, 2024, at the Albuquerque Convention Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. For more information on the ceremony, visit www.nmshof.org.