Hunter Lakey joined the Georgia Southern strength & conditioning staff in January 2024, overseeing all aspects of the development of the Eagles' baseball and swimming & diving programs.
In his two seasons with the Eagles baseball program, Lakey has directed the strength & conditioning development of three MLB draft picks and three all-conference honors. In his first season, the 2024 squad finished tied atop the Sun Belt East regular season standings and runner-up in the Sun Belt Tournament.
Lakey came to Statesboro after serving as the Assistant Baseball Strength & Conditioning Coach at Mississippi State, where he worked exclusively with the Bulldogs' baseball program during the 2023 offseason leading into the 2024 season. During the 2024 campaign, the team finished third in the SEC West and was runner-up in the Charlottesville Regional. He assisted in developing the Bulldogs' offseason strength and speed programs, contributing to an 81% success rate in stolen bases during the 2024 season. Lakey also helped develop 11 MLB draft picks in 2024, tying the program record for the most in a single year. The draft class was highlighted by switch pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, who was selected 15th overall by the Seattle Mariners in the first round, becoming the first switch pitcher in MLB history to be selected in the first round.
Prior to Mississippi State, Lakey spent three and a half years (2020-2023) at Elon University as an undergraduate assistant sports performance coach, primarily working as the lead assistant with baseball, football, and women’s lacrosse. During his tenure with Elon baseball, Lakey was mentored by notable figures in the baseball performance world, including Hunter Bell (current Director of Baseball S&C at the University of Arkansas) and Andrew Behnam (current Director of Baseball Performance at the University of Virginia). In his final year, the 2023 Elon baseball team recorded 33 wins, the most by an Elon team since 2019, and matched a program record with 19 CAA wins. During his time at Elon, the team secured victories over five Power 5 programs and four nationally ranked opponents, all of whom made postseason appearances. Lakey contributed to developing 13 all-conference selections and three MLB draft picks during his four seasons at Elon.
Between semesters at Elon, Lakey held two summer strength & conditioning roles in the State of Texas.
In the summer of 2022, he worked with the Texas A&M football program as a Sports Performance Coach. Lakey served as an extension of the sports performance staff assisting with quarterbacks and the freshman foundation program for the nation's #1 recruiting class.
In the summer of 2021, he served as a Strength & Conditioning Intern at TCU, assisting with baseball and football, where he completed a comprehensive internship education program led by Zach Dechant, a leading educator in the field of baseball performance.
A native of Burlington, North Carolina, Lakey is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and is CPR/AED certified. He earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise science with a minor in coaching from Elon University.
