John Michael Hayden joined the Louisville men’s soccer program as an assistant coach for the upcoming 2016-2017 season. Hayden returns to Louisville, where he was an assistant coach in 2012, after serving as associate head coach at Xavier during the 2015 season.
In 2015, Hayden helped Xavier compile 12 wins and earn a No. 10 ranking in the NSCAA poll. The Musketeers won at No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 1 Creighton during the fall, widely considered to be the first time any team has knocked off the top two NSCAA-ranked teams on the road in the same season.
Hayden joined the Musketeers after spending two successful seasons at Lipscomb, where he helped the Bison to a program-best 12-4-1 record and A-Sun regular season title in 2014. The Bison were 21-13-4 overall during his two years in Nashville, racking up several conference honors in the process. Hayden trained the 2014 A-Sun Defender of the Year, Luke Gearin, and the A-Sun Freshman of the Year, Ivan Alvarado. In 2013, he mentored A-Sun Player of the Year Omar Djabi and assisted A-Sun Coach of the Year Charles Morrow – both program firsts for the Bison.