Gary Henderson Position: Head Coach Years at UK: 6th Year

After helping lead the Kentucky baseball program through its most successful five-year period in the 104-year history of the program, Gary Henderson is in his first year as the head coach at UK.

Henderson, UK's associate head coach and pitching coach for the past five years, becomes the 25th head coach in the history of Wildcat baseball. Henderson has been a cornerstone in the success of the UK program over the past five years, helping transform the Wildcats into an annual national contender. Henderson's 2008 staff was the best in the Southeastern Conference, pacing the conference with a 3.71 team ERA, ranking as the second-best ERA in school history.

During his five years as the associate head coach, Henderson helped lead the Wildcat program to two school-record 44-win seasons, two NCAA Regional Championship appearances, an NCAA Regional host and an SEC Championship.

A former National Assistant Coach of the Year in 1996 at Florida, Henderson will be taking his second collegiate head coaching job, with assistant coaching stops at San Diego State, Fullerton State, Riverside CC, Pepperdine, Florida and Oregon State. Henderson's head coaching experience came previously as the head coach at Chapman University (Calif.), where he helped transition the program to Division I, guiding the program to a national ranking in just its first year.

"We are extremely excited to name Gary Henderson the next head coach at Kentucky," UK Athletics Director Barnhart said. "For over a decade, Gary has been one of the top assistant coaches in the country and he has been instrumental in transforming the UK baseball program into a national contender. Gary is one of the most organized coaches in the business, someone who is meticulous in his preparation and a coach with a tremendous amount of baseball knowledge."

Henderson's impact on the UK pitching staff has been drastic, helping transform the Wildcat staff into one of the top in the nation. Individually, impact can be seen by the improvements made to senior pitchers Andrew Albers, Brock Baber and Greg Dombrowski, a trio which exits UK among the pitching record holders. UK's 2007-08 Friday night starter Chris Rusin became the first Wildcat pitcher tabbed as a first-team selection since Scott Downs in 1997.

Henderson's pitching staff became a force during the 2006 SEC Championship season, ranking third in the conference in ERA. The Wildcats' pitching staff improved under Henderson immediately, as the team improved from a 5.23 ERA in 2005 to a 3.95 ERA during 2006.

In 2008, despite playing in a "hitters ballpark", Henderson's pitching staff allowed the fewest home runs in the SEC. That staff allowed the fewest runs and the fewest earned runs in the SEC in 2008. Regarded as one of the top coaches in college baseball regarding controlling the running game defensively, Henderson's 2008 Wildcat staff allowed the fewest stolen bases against, catching the fourth-most attempted stealers (27) in the conference.

Henderson's impact can not only be seen in the pitching staff but also in his recruiting ability. His impact was immediate upon his arrival, as UK's first recruiting class under Henderson was hailed as one of the top 25 in the nation by Collegiate Baseball. Henderson has continued to recruit the best players in the country, as the 2007 class was ranked among the nation's best and the 2008 class was tabbed No. 31. Henderson's 2009 class has the preliminary indications to be one of the top classes in the nation, boasting several players among the top 50 in high school baseball.

Prior to his current post, Henderson spent the five seasons as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator at Oregon State. Oregon State notched the school's first ever College World Series title in 2006, riding the arms of several players recruited by Henderson. The most notable was CWS MVP Kevin Gunderson, who pitched a brilliant post-season in leading the Beaver's to the title.

At Oregon State, Henderson coached eight Beaver pitchers who were drafted by major league teams, five of whom were selected in the top eight rounds. 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. In his time with the Beavers, two of Henderson's recruiting classes were ranked among the top 30 nationally. Meanwhile, his pitching staff led the Pac-10 Conference in complete games in both the 2000 and 2001 seasons.

In 1996, Collegiate Baseball newspaper tabbed Henderson as the National Assistant Coach of the Year. At the time, he was in his second year at Florida, where he served as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator for the Gators from 1995-98. In that time, he helped the Gators to the SEC Championship and the College World Series in both 1996 and 1998. Collegiate Baseball awarded national rankings to all four of Henderson's recruiting classes at Florida, including a No. 4 spot in 1996.

In his playing days, Henderson pitched one year at 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 (22) and Ty (6).

What They Are Saying About UK Head Coach Gary Henderson

Oregon State Head Coach Pat Casey ...
"What a great hire for the University of Kentucky. Gary is one of the top coaches in the country and I am so proud of have gotten to work with him and be apart of his life. Gary's work ethic, his attention to detail and his pure knowledge of what is going on with all aspects of the game makes him an outstanding coach. Gary is someone who has always been ahead of the game when it comes to recruiting and someone who has had an amazing impact on programs. He has earned the job, he is a man of integrity and someone who will do an outstanding job at Kentucky."

Cincinnati Reds Catcher David Ross ...
"Gary Henderson is going to be a phenomenal head coach, I am really happy for him and the University of Kentucky. Gary is a guy who really knows his stuff and him getting a head coaching job in the SEC is a really long time coming. He is a coach that can really relate to the players, a guy who is smart and witty, definitely one of the funniest coaches I have ever had. Gary Henderson deserves to be a head coach at a top-notch major school and he is going to do an outstanding job."

Vanderbilt Head Coach Tim Corbin ...
"Gary is very deserving of the Kentucky head coaching job. He has been in the business a long time and is one of the best baseball minds and pitching coaches out there. I have much respect for him, and as a friend I am very happy that he has gotten this opportunity."