Nebraska Baseball: Chat Hayes adds tremendous upside to 2020 class

Nebraska baseball picked up a late addition to the 2020 recruiting class.

Nebraska baseball continues to recruit at a high level, and Saturday, they landed Chat Hayes. The 2021 pitcher from Coffeyville, Kansas played for one short season at Coffeyville Community College.

Last week, Lance Harville called Hayes with an opportunity to come to Nebraska. It appears that this was not an opportunity for Hayes to turn down.

As I am reading up on him, it is clear to me that he has electric stuff. This season, he recorded 25 strikeouts to only 11 walks. In 19 innings of play, he tallied a 1.89 ERA.

If anything, his commitment to Nebraska speaks on how well Harvell did in recruiting him. Instead of allowing Hayes to go back to junior college, Harvell pounced on the opportunity.

"“I think it was like two days ago, and I accepted it yesterday,” Hayes told Husker247. “It was a 180 twist. I was fully expecting to go back to Coffeyville and have a great year and I figured they’d reach out to me for 2021, but I didn’t think it would be this season“It didn’t take me very long (to accept.)”"

Now, Hayes looks to be yet another player on a roster that is slowly accumulating talent. It seems like this offseason has really been a great one for Nebraska baseball. They have been recruiting aggressively and landing players that should be able to help their team, and in turn continue to build up the program.

Hayes had Tommy John surgery after hurting his arm in his senior season of high school baseball. He has primarily relied on a fastball and changeup as he continues to try and find his arm strength once again.

That to me is intriguing in of itself. If he can put up the numbers he did in a shortened season while working his way back from injury, what can he do when fully healthy?

To me, Hayes is a rarity. It seems like he is pitching at a high level, while being careful. He is already sort of finding his groove, while recovering from a surgery that sets many pitchers back. Once he doesn’t have to be as careful when he is pitching, he could be a bona fide star for the Nebraska baseball program.

Nebraska certainly has some live arms that they will be able to use in the future. Not only are they talented arms, many of them are local. Hayes is definitely one of those guys. There is no doubt that he may be a little bit of a project player. However, I feel confident that he will be able to regain his form. once fully healthy.