Emily Hays has been named Hiram College’s next head women’s basketball coach. Hays served as assistant women’s basketball coach for Washington & Jefferson College (Washington, Pa.) for the past four years. She replaces Andrea Preston, who led the team for the past seven years.

Hays is a Washington & Jefferson alumna, and as a student-athlete, she was named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Player of the Year and led the women’s basketball team to four post-season appearances, including two appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs. A year after graduating, she became assistant coach and helped lead the women’s basketball team to back-to-back 20-win seasons, in 2013 and 2014.

Hays is an advocate of a liberal arts education and the NCAA Division III experience.

“I am a firm believer that the strength of a well-rounded educational experience can help in the development of student-athletes,” she said. “Having been a Division III athlete myself, I love everything that Division III stands for. I love the game of basketball, and I’m very serious about every aspect that it entails.”

Off the court, Hays holds a bachelor of arts in accounting. She held various accounting internships and jobs during her undergraduate career, and has been involved in fundraising and recruiting in college athletics. She has also taught physical education and has been a summer camp counselor at Washington & Jefferson College.

“We’re all excited to welcome Emily to the Hiram community,” said Athletics Director Ellen Dempsey. “She will be an excellent coach and mentor to our women’s basketball team, and I am eager to see the direction in which she takes our program.”

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