New Coach Joins, Bulldogs Say Goodbye to Dynasty

The Georgia State Panthers are moving on from former Georgia Bulldogs assistant coach and player Jonas Hayes after four seasons. Hayes coached at Georgia State from 2022-2026. Hayes led Georgia State to a 48-79 record during his four seasons as head coach.

The Panthers never had a winning record during his four seasons in charge. Hayes and Georgia State never had a winning record in Sun Belt play either. It will be interesting to see where Hayes lands next.

Prior to taking the head coaching role at Georgia State, Hayes served as an assistant at Xavier from 2018-2022. Notably, Hayes helped Xavier win the National Invitational Tournament (NIT) during his final season at Xavier. Before coming to Xavier, he was an assistant at Georgia under coach Mark Fox from 2013-2018.

Hayes worked his way up the ranks of college basketball as an assistant for Morehouse, South Carolina State and Belmont Abbey before taking an assistant job at his alma mater. Hayes played college basketball for Western Carolina before transferring to Georgia ahead of the 2001-2002 season. Hayes helped Georgia make the NCAA Tournament in his first season in Athens.