May 5, 2008

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Long Beach State Head Men's Basketball Coach Dan Monson announced today that Jay Morris has been hired as the new Director of Basketball Operations for the 49er men's program. Morris comes to the 49ers from Westchester High School where he served as an assistant coach and strength coach for the Comets last year.

Morris helped lead Westchester to an outstanding season in 2007-08. The Comets advanced to the semifinals of the Los Angeles City Championships and went to the second round of the State Tournament.

For the past four years Morris has been a personal trainer in Southern California. He founded the company, DREAM, which trains both athletes and individuals. He has worked with athletes at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.

Morris played basketball and football at Westchester High School and was an all-league and all-city quarterback in 1998. He played one year of basketball at Citrus College before transferring to Cal Lutheran. Morris played two years of football at CLU, playing cornerback and returning punts, before having his senior season cut short due to injury. He also played one year (2004) for the Bakersfield Blitz of the Arena Football League.

Morris will be finishing up work on his Kinesiology degree at Long Beach State this fall.