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The University of Mississippi Athletics
Track & Field Adds Brandon Hazouri as Associate Head Cross Country and Assistant Track & Field Coach
7/14/2026 | Track and Field
OXFORD, Miss. – Head Ole Miss track & field coach Connie Price-Smith announced the hiring of Brandon Hazouri as the new associate head cross country and assistant track & field coach on Tuesday. He brings a wealth of experience and success in leading cross country and distance programs to Oxford, coaching numerous All-Americans and spearheading nationally ranked recruiting classes during his career thus far.
"We are excited to welcome Brandon to our staff here at Ole Miss," said head coach Price-Smith. "He has had great success at each stop during his career in recruiting and coaching top tier student-athletes, and we look forward to the impact he will have on our cross country and distance programs."
"It's a tremendous honor to have been given the opportunity to lead this group of young men and women," said Hazouri. "I want to thank Coach Price-Smith for her trust and belief in my ability to help contribute to the overall vision of the Ole Miss track & field team."
In five seasons at Wake Forest, Hazouri helped coach 16 all-conference honorees in track & field, including the program's first outdoor track & field All-American since 2018. He helped coach two-time All-American Rynard Swanepoel, who would break the school record in the 800-meter with a time of 1:45.28. Hazouri also helped lead Emma Douglass in setting the Wake Forest indoor 800-meter record (2:03.95) and Natlalia Issler in setting the outdoor 800-meter record (2:02.28).
His guidance led to a pair of school records in the distance medley relay while at Wake Forest, highlighted by the men's squad which posted a 9:17.17, the fourth-fastest collegiate mark in NCAA history at the time.
With the men's cross country program, he helped the Demon Deacons secure three top-10 finishes at NCAA Championship meets, highlighted by a fifth-place finish in 2022, and led the program to ACC Championships in both 2024 and 2022. As the team's leading recruiting coordinator with the men's cross country team, Hazouri brought in the No. 3 nationally ranked class in 2024, No. 4 class in 2023, and No. 7 class in 2022.
"I want to thank Coach John Hayes for all of my time at Wake Forest," said Hazouri. "It is because of his guidance and mentorship over these last five years that I am ready to continue a tradition of excellence at Ole Miss. I cannot wait to get to Oxford with my family and get to work with a tremendous group of athletes this fall."
Prior to joining Wake Forest in 2021, Hazouri was the head cross country and assistant track & field coach at Western Illinois for two seasons. While at WIU, he helped the team earn conference titles in the men's 800-meter and distance medley relay, and coached the program's only first team All-American in Ackeen Colley who took sixth in the 800-meter at the 2021 indoor championship.
He began his coaching career within the college ranks at his alma mater, Samford, where he served as an assistant cross country and track & field coach. He ran professionally prior to his time as a coach with the Atlanta Track Club.
As a student-athlete at Samford, Hazouri was an All-American in the 800-meter, a seven-time conference champion, and competed at the US Track & Field National Championships in 2015. He finished his career owning school records in the indoor and outdoor 800-meter, the 1500-meter, the mile, and distance medley relay.
The Birmingham, Ala., native completed his undergraduate degree in health sciences from Samford in 2017.
"We are excited to welcome Brandon to our staff here at Ole Miss," said head coach Price-Smith. "He has had great success at each stop during his career in recruiting and coaching top tier student-athletes, and we look forward to the impact he will have on our cross country and distance programs."
"It's a tremendous honor to have been given the opportunity to lead this group of young men and women," said Hazouri. "I want to thank Coach Price-Smith for her trust and belief in my ability to help contribute to the overall vision of the Ole Miss track & field team."
In five seasons at Wake Forest, Hazouri helped coach 16 all-conference honorees in track & field, including the program's first outdoor track & field All-American since 2018. He helped coach two-time All-American Rynard Swanepoel, who would break the school record in the 800-meter with a time of 1:45.28. Hazouri also helped lead Emma Douglass in setting the Wake Forest indoor 800-meter record (2:03.95) and Natlalia Issler in setting the outdoor 800-meter record (2:02.28).
His guidance led to a pair of school records in the distance medley relay while at Wake Forest, highlighted by the men's squad which posted a 9:17.17, the fourth-fastest collegiate mark in NCAA history at the time.
With the men's cross country program, he helped the Demon Deacons secure three top-10 finishes at NCAA Championship meets, highlighted by a fifth-place finish in 2022, and led the program to ACC Championships in both 2024 and 2022. As the team's leading recruiting coordinator with the men's cross country team, Hazouri brought in the No. 3 nationally ranked class in 2024, No. 4 class in 2023, and No. 7 class in 2022.
"I want to thank Coach John Hayes for all of my time at Wake Forest," said Hazouri. "It is because of his guidance and mentorship over these last five years that I am ready to continue a tradition of excellence at Ole Miss. I cannot wait to get to Oxford with my family and get to work with a tremendous group of athletes this fall."
Prior to joining Wake Forest in 2021, Hazouri was the head cross country and assistant track & field coach at Western Illinois for two seasons. While at WIU, he helped the team earn conference titles in the men's 800-meter and distance medley relay, and coached the program's only first team All-American in Ackeen Colley who took sixth in the 800-meter at the 2021 indoor championship.
He began his coaching career within the college ranks at his alma mater, Samford, where he served as an assistant cross country and track & field coach. He ran professionally prior to his time as a coach with the Atlanta Track Club.
As a student-athlete at Samford, Hazouri was an All-American in the 800-meter, a seven-time conference champion, and competed at the US Track & Field National Championships in 2015. He finished his career owning school records in the indoor and outdoor 800-meter, the 1500-meter, the mile, and distance medley relay.
The Birmingham, Ala., native completed his undergraduate degree in health sciences from Samford in 2017.
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