December 19, 2008

Kendall Rogers
Rivals.com College Baseball Editor

During a five-year stint at Oregon State, Henderson helped build the foundation of a national power by hitting the recruiting trail. He left OSU in 2002 with little clue just how far the Beavers would rise.

Some coaches might feel a pang of regret watching a former program garner a wealth of success on the national stage. Not Henderson.

He took up the same challenge at Kentucky when he joined then-coach John Cohen's staff and hasn't looked back. His efforts in recruiting and success developing pitchers as the Wildcats' associate head coach for the last five seasons are a big reason he's now directing the program.

"The thing that stood out to me about Kentucky several seasons ago is that I always felt it could be successful because of its geographic location and the conference it played in, the SEC," Henderson told Rivals.com. "I also felt the current athletic administration would help the program succeed."

It wasn't easy to get things going, though. The Wildcats finished the 2005 season with a less than stellar overall record of 29-27.

The 2006 season, however, was the turning point for the program. With newcomer Ryan Strieby and others leading the charge, the Wildcats shocked the southeastern part of the country by winning the SEC regular-season crown, hosting a regional and finishing the season with a 44-17 record.

The Wildcats finished the season with one of the nation's most prolific offenses, but also had a pitching staff that ended the season with a 3.95 team earned-run average. By comparison, the Wildcats finished the '05 season with a 5.23 ERA.

After the success UK experienced in '06, the transformation was complete.

"You know, going into 2006, we had a team that really had been beaten up in the past, and they were tired of losing, they wanted to win with new guys like Ryan Strieby and Sean Coughlin in tow," Henderson said. "With the level of confidence we played with that season, it was easy to see this program definitely was headed the right direction."

The Wildcats didn't stop there. After finishing the '07 season with an overall record of 34-19, they returned to NCAA regional play last season with a 44-19 record.

Though the Wildcats have yet to advance to a super regional, Henderson believes it's only a matter of time before that happens. He also doesn't view UK as a program with many obstacles.

"I really don't see too many obstacles to winning at UK," he said. "People used to say weather up here early in the season is an issue, but I really don't think it's an issue too much anymore. Maybe it was many years ago."

With a personality of a straight shooter, a wealth of experience at different programs around the country and an understanding of what it takes to win at a high level at Kentucky, it's easy to see why UK wasted little time in hiring a new coach after Cohen decided to head to State this past summer.

After Cohen decided to leave UK, Henderson received a phone call from Cohen stating Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart wanted to meet with him the next morning. At that point, Henderson knew the meeting with Barnhart probably would lead to something pretty good. It did.

The next morning, Henderson was named the new coach at UK.

"I absolutely knew Coach Henderson had head coach qualities, because he's a straight shooter and always lets you know where you stand," Kentucky veteran Chris McClendon said. "There's just a certain vibe about him that tells you he's going to be a good head coach."

"I definitely think it's huge to have a coach that has been inside this program and knows what it takes to win here," McClendon said. "He knows what to expect from us and we know what to expect from him. It's really great."

In addition to running a class program off the field and instilling many of the same philosophies of the past into the new players, Henderson is a strong believer you can't win in the SEC without great pitching and defense.

"When you're in a conference like the SEC, you can't afford not to play great defense. If you don't, you're going to be in a tough position," he said. "From a program standpoint, I plan on doing many of the same things we did when Coach Cohen was here."

That plan includes winning.

Though the Wildcats welcomed a talented freshman class to campus a few months ago, they enter the spring facing an uphill battle. The Wildcats have the tough chore of replacing former outfielders Sawyer Carroll and Collin Cowgill, while injuries have taken their toll in other areas. The silver lining could be the return of ace pitcher Chris Rusin, who finished last season with a 3.33 ERA in 83 2/3 innings of work.

Henderson realizes the Wildcats have some huge holes to fill this spring, but insists the team could be in good shape if some younger players make a smooth transition and the returning players maximize their strengths.

Well aware of what it takes to win in Lexington, Ky., Henderson already is prepared for his first season as the Wildcats' coach.

"I don't think you can match what Cowgill and Carroll accomplished last season, so I think we're going to have a different style of team this year, such as playing more small ball," Henderson said. "If you had an honest moment with any coach right now, they'd have some concerns. I'll just say that if we can finish SEC play in decent shape, we'll feel like we've been through the grinder and should make an NCAA regional."

Kendall Rogers is the college baseball editor for Rivals.com and Yahoo! Sports. He can be reached at rogersk@yahoo-inc.com.