RIVER FALLS, Wis. — Talia Hayes was named the University of Wisconsin-River Falls women's lacrosse coach on Thursday, Nov. 11, as announced by Athletics Director Crystal Lanning.

Hayes has experience as an assistant coach at the high school level, spending time as the Eastview High School (Apple Valley, Minn.) girls lacrosse varsity assistant coach since 2017. In addition, she spent time coaching the successful Minnesota Loons Select girls' lacrosse team, winning multiple tournaments. She also had a role with the Mounds View (MN) Youth Lacrosse organization. 

"I am excited to welcome Coach Hayes to UW-River Falls to lead our women's lacrosse program," said Lanning. "She brings valuable experience at the Division III level and has a passion for developing competitive student-athletes on and off the field."

A three-year team captain and Midwest Women's Lacrosse All-Conference honoree at the University of Northwestern in St. Paul, Minn., Hayes is the Northwestern women's lacrosse all-time leading scorer with 258 points off 179 goals and 79 assists. She was also the league's Rookie of the Year and was a three-time Team MVP.

Also a member of the Northwestern women's basketball team, she helped lead the Eagles to an NCCAA National Championship appearance as a team captain. In 2020, she was named an NCAA Woman of the Year nominee and earned the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Scholar-Athlete Leadership Award. 

"I am very grateful to UW-River Falls and Crystal Lanning for this opportunity," Hayes commented. "I am passionate about lacrosse, people, and creating an unmatched collegiate athletic experience for students. I'm excited to work with a program that has such a strong foundation to build on and believe UWRF lacrosse will only go up from here. I cannot wait to get to work with this team!" 

She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Biology and master's degree in Organizational Leadership from Northwestern.