Kylie E. Chetwynde
Senior Men’s Basketball Player Juvaris Hayes broke the NCAA all-time steals record in NCAA history. Hayes broke the record during Merrimack’s game against Mount St. Mary’s on February 23.
Hayes stole his 449 career steal during his first steal of the game, breaking Tennyson Whitted’s 448 steal record from Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ. Whitted held the steals record for the past 17 years. During the game, Hayes posted a 4-steal performance to end the night with a total of 452 steals.
“He is probably one of the few people in the country you have to prepare for, teams are so worried about him and where he is,” said head coach Joe Gallo, who has coached Hayes since his freshman year.
“It’s the trust that we have in each other, there are days I yell at him but two hours later we know we will both be totally fine, which is the last part about why the two of us have done so well together,” Gallo said.
Not only does Hayes now hold an all-time record, but along with the two other seniors, Jaleel Lord, and Idris Joyner, who are also both from New Jersey along with Hayes, the trio holds a school program record for the most wins in history.
Hayes has a total of 1,932 career points and is ranked 7th in program history in scoring with plenty of time left this final season.
The Merrimack College Men’s Basketball team made themselves a tough competition after joining the NEC conference this past fall. Approaching the final matches of their season, the Warriors are 13-4 in conference play and 19-11 overall.
The Warriors will continue working to become the first basketball team in NCAA history to win a conference regular-season championship in their first year at the Division I level.
