The Murray State baseball program has strengthened its coaching staff for the 2025 season by welcoming three new additions: Hayden Cross, Hunter Wolfe, and Anthony Ortega. Head coach Dan Skirka announced the hires in August 2024, expressing enthusiasm about the energy and expertise the trio brings to the Racers.
“I am extremely excited about our coaching staff,” Skirka said. “They are exactly what we are looking for in leaders for our program—energetic, hard-working, and baseball guys.”
Introducing Hayden Cross – Director of Player Development
Hayden Cross joins the Racers as the Director of Player Development and will coach the team’s catchers. Cross comes to Murray State after serving as a graduate assistant at Appalachian State in 2024, where he coached catchers and assisted with hitters. His work with the offense helped the Mountaineers set a single-season program record of 96 home runs and lead the Sun Belt Conference with a .919 team OPS.
A native of Sanford, North Carolina, Cross had an impressive playing career at Appalachian State, earning All-Sun Belt Second Team honors as a catcher in 2022. He was recognized for his defensive skills, recording the third-most runners thrown out in the Sun Belt that season, and led the conference in steals in 2023. In his senior season, Cross slashed .327/.434/.514, guiding the Mountaineers to their first Sun Belt tournament semifinals since joining the conference.
Introducing Hunter Wolfe – Assistant Coach (Offense, Outfielders & Infielders)
Hunter Wolfe joins the Murray State staff as an assistant coach, focusing on the offense and coaching both outfielders and infielders. Originally from Kingsport, Tennessee, Wolfe spent the last two seasons with the DFW Twins, a development club for collegiate players in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where he coached athletes of various ages, many of whom went on to receive scholarships at different levels of collegiate baseball.
Wolfe’s playing career began at Walters State Community College under Skirka’s mentorship, where he helped the Senators achieve over 100 wins in two seasons and a national runner-up finish in 2018. He earned First Team All-TCCAA and NJCAA All-American honors and was drafted twice by MLB teams. Wolfe continued his success at TCU, where he became a career .316 hitter, earned multiple tournament accolades, and contributed to a Big 12 Conference championship and national seed in the NCAA tournament.
After his collegiate career, Wolfe played professional baseball with the Cleburne Railroaders in the American Association in 2022, where he was named Rookie of the Year before transitioning into coaching.
Introducing Anthony Ortega – Assistant Coach (Hitters & Infielders)
Anthony Ortega comes to Murray State as an assistant coach responsible for the hitters and infielders. Ortega spent the last five seasons at Benedictine College, where he served as an assistant coach, recruiting coordinator, and eventually associate head coach. Under his leadership, the Raven offense thrived, stealing over 300 bases and setting a school record with 120 stolen bases in 2021. The defense also improved significantly, raising its fielding percentage by 22 points.
During his tenure at Benedictine, Ortega developed 10 Heart of America Conference All-Conference selections and two NAIA All-American selections. Before Benedictine, he served as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, California State University, San Bernardino, where he helped develop hitters and infielders.
“Our athletic director Nico Yantko has stepped up in a huge way in getting us a new position,” Skirka added. “We will take advantage of having more coaches available to develop the Racers!”
