July 9, 2003
Lexington, Ky. –
Gary Henderson, former National Assistant Coach of the Year, has been named assistant baseball coach at the University of Kentucky, UK head coach John Cohen announced Wednesday.
Henderson earned the national honor from Collegiate Baseball newspaper in 1996 during his term as an assistant coach at Florida. Henderson served as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the Gators from 1995-98, including two College World Series trips. While Henderson was in Gainesville, the Gators were Southeastern Conference champions in 1996 and won a share of the title in 1998. Collegiate Baseball gave national rankings to four of Henderson’s recruiting classes at Florida, including a No. 4 ranking in 1996.
A native of Eugene, Ore., Henderson spent the last five seasons as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Oregon State. He guided four Beaver pitchers who went on to be drafted by major league teams, three of which were selected in the top eight rounds, and two others who were signed as free agents with major league organizations. With the help of Henderson’s recruiting efforts, the Beavers improved from 19 wins in 1999 to 31 in both the 2001 and 2002 seasons, finishing 31-24 and 31-23, respectively. Henderson’s pitching staff led the Pac-10 Conference in complete games in both the 2000 and 2001 seasons. While at Oregon State, two of Henderson’s recruiting classes were ranked in the top 30 nationally.
“I’m extremely excited about the opportunity to coach at the University of Kentucky. I’m very much looking forward to working with Coach Cohen and working for Mitch Barnhart (UK Athletics Director),” Henderson said. “Having the chance to coach in the Southeastern Conference and to build on the foundation that Coach Keith Madison has laid at Kentucky is a real honor for me.”
“Gary Henderson is a man with tremendous experience and a national reputation as an outstanding recruiter as well as a coach with great knowledge of the game, particularly in the area of pitching,” Cohen said. “We’re very excited about what he has to offer as a part of our staff at the University of Kentucky.”
Henderson also has served as an assistant coach at Pepperdine, Cal State-Fullerton, Chapman University and Riverside Community College. He had a head coaching stint was at Chapman University, where he helped the school in its transition into the NCAA Division I ranks, where it competed for one season and achieved a national ranking.
In his playing days, Henderson pitched for Linfield College before transferring to San Diego State. He compiled a 19-5 career record at the two schools. Henderson earned a bachelor’s degree in English from San Diego State and a master’s degree in Sports Psychology from SDSU.
Henderson and his wife, Vicki, have two sons, Alex, and Ty.
–UK–
