Hayden Sowers enters his second season at Arkansas State in 2026-27 and his first as associate head coach after joining Ryan Pannone's inaugural staff in 2025-26. Sowers earned a promotion in July 2026 following a successful first season in Jonesboro that saw the Red Wolves emerge as one of the nation's top turnaround stories.
In his first season with the program, Sowers played a key role in helping Arkansas State win 20 regular-season games and finish 11-7 in Sun Belt Conference play despite returning no players from the previous season. The Red Wolves tied for second in the conference standings, posted a program-record nine road victories and became one of only two Division I programs nationally to win 20 games in 2025-26 without a returning player.
A highly regarded recruiter and player-development coach, Sowers helped Arkansas State secure the No. 1 transfer recruiting class in the Sun Belt Conference in each of his first two recruiting cycles. Head coach Ryan Pannone credited Sowers' contributions to player development, recruiting and on-court coaching as key factors in the program's success and subsequent promotion to associate head coach.
Sowers – the two-time Western Junior College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year – joined the Red Wolves after spending the last four seasons at one of the top junior college programs in the country, South Plains College in Levelland, Texas, including the past three as head coach of the Texans. In a decade of coaching – eight at the junior-college level and two in the prep ranks – 95 Sowers-coached players have reached the Division-I ranks.
During his three years at the helm, South Plains went 83-19 overall and back-to-back Region V titles. The Texans finished in the quarterfinals or better of the NJCAA National Tournament the past two seasons, including a semifinal finish this season.
This past season, Sowers led the Texans to the NJCAA semifinals and a 29-7 overall record, a year after taking them to the quarterfinals with a 32-3 mark. In his first year as head coach, SPC went 22-9. He also helped the team to a Sweet 16 appearance in 2021-22 in his lone season as an assistant under NJCAA Hall of Fame coach Steve Green. In three of his four seasons at South Plains, the Texans won regional titles.
"My family and I couldn't be more excited to join the Arkansas State family," Sowers said. "Coach Pannone an elite basketball coach and an even better person, so the opportunity to join him in Jonesboro was a no-brainer! I am excited to recruit and develop young men that will make Red Wolves fans proud. I'm honored to be a part of this program and can't wait to get to work."
Prior to joining the Texans, the Tupelo, Miss., native spent four years as an assistant at Pearl River Community College, during which the Wildcats amassed an overall record of 90-11 from 2018-21. During the 2019-20 season, PRCC went 28-0 and earned the No. 1 national seed in the NJCAA Tournament, which was eventually canceled due to COVID-19. In his stint at PRCC, Sowers recruited and coached four NJCAA All-Americans and sent 22 players to four-year universities.
Sowers also spent two seasons as an assistant at Massanutten Military Academy, helping the team to a 56-11 record and sending 18 players to four-year universities.
From 2013-16, Sowers served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, Ole Miss, under head coach Andy Kennedy.
