Laramie, Wyo. (June 11, 2015) — University of Wyoming head coach Larry Shyatt announced on Thursday the signing of Hayden Dalton of Central Wyoming College to a scholarship offer. Dalton is originally from Parker, Colo., where he played at Chaparral High School. Dalton played one season at Central Wyoming and will have three years of eligibility remaining at the University of Wyoming.
“As we’ve mentioned in the past few weeks, we’ve continued to look for the best fit for our program,” said Shyatt. “There is no question that we have found that right fit in Hayden Dalton. He is continuing to develop and grow. Hayden is currently 6”10” and 190 pounds, having grown nearly four inches since his early days of high school. He has all the attributes in terms of family values and academics that we look for when we recruit a young man to our program.”
Dalton started all 27 games he played in his freshman season at Central Wyoming. He averaged 8.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game this past season, leading the Rustlers in rebounding. An outstanding shooter for a big man, he shot 48.6 percent (84 of 173) from the field and an impressive 41.7 percent from three, making 25 of 60 three-point attempts. Dalton also converted 80.4 percent (45 of 56) of his free throws. He added 1.4 assists per game, and had 18 blocks and 23 steals.
He had 12 double-figure scoring games his freshman season at Central Wyoming, including scoring a season high 18 points on three occasions versus Northwest College, Laramie County Community College and the Utah All-Stars.
Dalton was part of a Central Wyoming team that posted a 19-9 overall record and finished third in the NJCAA Region IX North Division standings with a 9-5 mark.
He was coached in junior college by head coach Pat Rafferty at Central Wyoming. Rafferty is a former assistant coach at the University of Louisville, Northern Arizona University, the University of Idaho and Drake University. Rafferty, a native of Buffalo, Wyo., was named the NJCAA Division I Region IX North Sub-Region Coach of the Year in his second season at Central Wyoming in the 2014-15 season.
He is the son of Mindy and Matt Dalton. Dalton comes from an athletic family, as his sister, Nicole, was a sophomore on the University of Texas volleyball team this past season. He is one of seven children. He has: two older sisters, Karlie and Nicole; two younger sisters, Julianna and Katie; and two younger brothers, Joseph and Levi.
~Courtesy of University of Wyoming Athletics
