JONESBORO, Ark. (4/23/25) – Arkansas State men’s basketball head coach Ryan Pannone announced Wednesday the addition of transfer Matt Hayman to the 2025-26 squad.

The Delhi, La., native joins the program after playing the last three seasons at Stephen F. Austin, where he led the Lumberjacks in scoring this past season (14.0). Hayman, who started 30 of 31 games played, shot 42.3 percent from the field and made a team-best 65 3-pointers on a 36.9-percent clip. He also tallied a team-leading 82 assists and was second on the squad with 54 steals. Hayman scored 20-plus five times this past season and had nine games with four or more 3-pointers made.

“Matt Hayman is a big-time signing for us,” Pannone said. “The best way to describe him, as he was described to me by his previous coach, is ‘Navy SEAL’: elite toughness, ultimate competitor, blue-collar, about all the winning things. On top of that, he also happens to be an extremely talented and skilled basketball player. He shot 37% from 3 and led Stephen F. Austin in scoring. He can really pass and create and makes players around him better, and we’re excited to bring all the intangible things that he does that impact winning from his toughness, competitiveness, and his willingness to do all the dirty work. His skill level is a great addition for us with how many threes we plan on shooting, along with his ability to create threes for his teammates and make threes.”

In 2023-24, Hayman made a team-high 29 starts across 33 games played, averaging 9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds. In conference play, Hayman’s production upped to 11.5 points per contest. He scored 20 or more four times out of a dozen double-digit scoring outputs and made 33 3-pointers on a 37.1-percent mark. Hayman also shot 76.3 percent from the foul line and was a 44.6-percent shooter from the floor.

Hayman shot 44.9 percent in his first season at SFA in 2022-23, totaling 10 or more points in five games while averaging 4.9 per game.

Prior to his stint in Nacogdoches, Hayman played the 2020-21 season at Hinds Community College in Mississippi, where he averaged 15.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor and 42.9 percent from beyond the arc on 51 makes.

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