Catcher Hayden Dunhurst joins the Lake Country DockHounds after starting the 2025 season with the Kane County Cougars. The 24-year-old backstop guided Kane County to the 2024 Miles Wolff Cup Championship, going 7-0 while allowing only nine runs.

Growing up in the south, born in Louisiana before moving across the border to Mississippi, Dunhurst elected to go to college and not sign with the Colorado Rockies in 2019 and attend Ole Miss(University of Mississippi) for college. In the shortened 2020 season, Dunhurst put together his best year at the plate with a .932 OPS.

As the primary catcher, Dunhurst guided Ole Miss to the 2022 national championship and started the dog pile in Omaha. This prompted the Kansas City Royals to draft Hayden in the 6th round of the draft that summer.

Dunhurst played just 34 games in 2023 with the Royals before his release in 2024, but made it to high-A Quad Cities at his peak. He is a prized backstop and strong contributor to the premier pitching staff in the American Association.