Interview with The Head Men’s Baseball Coach at Kentucky State University Rob Henry

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Henry has been at the helm of the Kentucky State baseball program since the 2013 season.
He became the program’s all-time wins leader in 2019, while also leading the Thorobreds to their first winning season since 1988. The 28 victories were the most wins since 1979.

The 2017 season proved to be a memorable one for Henry and his program, as the Thorobreds went 20-34 overall, and recorded a third-place finish in the SIAC tournament. The 20 win season was not only the first under Herny’s tenure as head coach, but it was the first time since 1989, KSU baseball reached the mark in wins.

In his second year at the helm of the Thorobreds program, Henry guided Kentucky State to a 15-38 overall record. This was the second straight season that KSU finished with more than 14 or more wins and just the fourth time in the past 24 years.

During the 2013 season, the Thorobreds compiled a 14-29 overall record and finished with an impressive 11-9 in SIAC action, good for second in the final SIAC West Division standings.

In his first year as a collegiate head coach Henry not only led the program to the most wins in 12 years but the student-athletes were honored for their performances in the classroom. Kentucky State was named the 2013 All-Academic team for having the highest average GPA in the SIAC.

Henry came to KSU from Asbury University (KY), where he served as the Assistant Baseball Coach for the 2011 season. During his time at Asbury, Henry helped lead the Eagles to their first Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (KIAC) Tournament Championship and qualified for the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in program history. Henry also coached eight All-KIAC selections, three Gold Glove winners and the KIAC Player of the Year.

Henry began his college coaching career at Kentucky Wesleyan College (1997-2001) where he worked with the infielders and assisted with batting techniques.

From 2002-2006, Henry served as the top assistant coach at Spalding University. He joined Spalding’s staff in the school’s second season with baseball and was responsible for coordinating scouting reports and fundraising activities, as well as coaching the infielders and hitters. During his tenure, the Pelicans went to the NAIA World Series three times (2002, 2003 and 2005), and Henry coached 43 All-Conference selections, three KIAC Players of the Year, 20 All-Americans and the 2003 NAIA National Player of the Year.

Henry also has coaching experience at the NCAA Division I level, having served as the Associate Head Baseball Coach at Cleveland State University from 2006-2011. The Vikings won over twenty games (2008-2009) for the first time in eight years and produced six All-Horizon League selections, as well as three draft picks. In his role with the Vikings, Henry also assisted with academic advising and eligibility and helped improved the team’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) from 880 to 959.

A Lexington, KY native, Henry has served as an instructor for the University of Kentucky Baseball Camp each year since 1999. He has also served as an instructor for camps at Mississippi State University (2009), Derby City Summer Collegiate League teams (2002, 2003 and 2005) and has presented at several other camps and clinics.

A member of the American Baseball Coaches Association since 1998, Henry has published two articles (Collegiate Baseball 2006 and Coaching Digest May 2011) and served as a professional scout for the Kansas City Royals (2006).

Henry earned his Bachelor’s in History and Secondary Education (minors in English and Physical Education) from Kentucky Wesleyan College and a Master’s in General History (emphasis in United States History) from Western Kentucky University. He currently lives in Lexington, KY with his son Joshua.