With light feet and a quick change of direction when getting dodged on, Hays is a well-rounded defensive prospect. He has a threatening approach to the ball, with a wide stance and his stick extended to apply poke and lift checks. The Blue Star product times his checks well to jar the ball loose and is aggressive in scrums with good instincts to find space and win possession for his team, leading the Shawnee defense in ground balls last spring with 94. While he spends the majority of his time on the defensive end, when the chance to push in transition comes, Hays is confident and makes smart plays with the ball, tallying a pair of goals and assists in the 2026 spring. The Medford (N.J.) native should garner a good amount of attention from scouts over this summer if he continues to produce as he did for Shawnee just two months ago.

This dynamic athlete possesses explosive speed, incredible agility, polished footwork, and elite stick skills. That list of assets forms one of the top LSMs in New Jersey. To be honest, how Hays remains available is a complete mystery. Hays is a menacing on-ball presence who tortures opponents with his constant lifts, pokes, slaps, and stick checks. This lefty pole simply wears out offensive players with his relentless pressure until they eventually commit a turnover. Once the ball hits the turf, Hays will snag the GB and streak into the offensive end. When he gets below the retaining line, Hays is a legitimate threat to fire one into the back of the net. Of course, Hays also does a fantastic job of drawing a defender and then distributing to the open teammate. Hays has flashed the ability to run at close defense, too. Down low, Hays can provide a physical presence and excels at disrupting passing lanes with his active stick.

Hays is a dynamic athlete who combines the speed of a track star with the agility of a basketball point guard. When you add in Hays’s crafty stick skills and refined footwork, you get a LSM prospect of the highest caliber. Hays is a magician at causing turnovers. He can pursue ball carriers for long stretches and then use a perfectly timed lift, poke or stick check to put the ball on the turf. This lefty pole simply wears out offensive players with his relentless pressure. With his active stick and anticipation skills, Hay also does a fantastic job of deflecting or intercepting ill-advised passes. Once Hays has the ball in his possession, his track-like speed allows him to easily sprint past opposing players. After he explodes into the offensive end, Hays is a threat to fire on net or move the ball to an open teammate. Hays has proven that he can drop down and play close defense too. At close he has shown the ability to play with a physical edge to his game.  

Young longstick middies would be well-suited to match Hays’ energy, as the South Jersey native possesses a motor that doesn’t quit. Relatively unassuming to his defensive peers on this list, Hays was all over the field at Troy Park and seemed to take pride in numerous areas of the game and ultimately found his name on the All-Tournament team. He has a tremendous handle and was constantly eluding riding opponents and pushing transition, but didn’t overdo it like some poles have the tendency to do. He applied a ton of pressure 1v1 and provided some physicality, and when the ball was on the ground, Hays picked it up cleanly off the carpet.