Ken Henderson

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Hometown: Vinita, Okla. Position: Head Coach Birthdate: 09/28/1960

Experience: 22nd Year Alma Mater: Missouri Southern (1983)

Last updated on Nov. 17, 2011

Ken Henderson was named the seventh head coach in the history of the SIU baseball program on July 8, 2011. A veteran Division I baseball coach of nearly 30 years and loyal member of the Saluki coaching staff, he enters his first season as the official head coach after serving as the interim head coach for the 2011 season following the passing of Dan Callahan on Nov. 15, 2010. The 2012 season will be Henderson's 22nd season at SIU.

He came to Southern Illinois in the fall of 1990 as an assistant coach and held the title of associate head coach from 1993-2010.

Henderson also served as interim head coach in 1994. He took over the Saluki program on an interim basis midway through the year and led SIU to a 12-8 record under his direction. Henderson guided Southern to a winning record that season after the club started the year off winning just 15 of its first 33 games.

In his 27 years coaching at the Division I level, which included three-year stints at Kansas State (1984-86) and Oral Roberts (1987-89), Henderson has helped guide his teams to a 767-745-2 record.

He has coached 32 players at Southern Illinois who have gone on to be drafted. In 2011, Saluki first baseman Chris Serritella was drafted in the 31st round by Kansas City despite missing the entire season with a wrist injury. Also included in that list are 2009 World Series Champion Jerry Hairston, Jr. (currently with the Milwaukee Brewers), Jason Frasor (currently with the Chicago White Sox) and P.J. Finigan, now an assistant coach with Henderson at SIU.

The loyal Saluki and veteran coach guided Southern Illinois to a fifth-place finish in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2011, when the team was picked to finish seventh in the preseason poll. SIU did so without two of its top players in first baseman Chris Serritella and Lee Weld, who both missed the entire season with injuries. In addition, Aaron Snyder missed the majority of the season after he was projected to be a weekend starter for the Dawgs.Southern Illinois' 2011 roster featured 27 players, 19 of which were freshmen or sophomores.

Serritella was a first team All-MVC selection in 2010 when he hit .374 with 13 home runs and 64 RBIs, and Weld was Southern's top reliever in 2010 when struck out a team-high 57 batters in 29 appearances.

In his one year running the ball club, Henderson proved his ability to develop all-conference players.

Sophomore pitcher Cody Forsythe received first team All-MVC honors, as he led the league with a 2.08 ERA in the conference regular season. Forsythe became SIU's first starting pitcher to receive first team All-MVC accolades since P.J. Finigan, Southern's current pitching coach, did so in 2005. Forsythe only walked 11 of the 429 batters he faced in 2011 and ranked 10th nationally in fewest walks allowed per nine innings pitched.

Junior outfielder Jordan Sivertsen was Southern's power threat at the dish, and he received second team All-MVC accolades by belting nine homers and driving in 48 runs.

Henderson has been in charge of hitting and infield defense, and his squads have posted some impressive numbers throughout the years.

Under Henderson's guidance, Finigan was named the 2005 Missouri Valley Conference Player of the Year, as he garnered First-Team All-MVC honors as both a pitcher and shortstop. Finigan led the MVC that year with a .386 batting average and had 48 RBIs, four triples and six home runs.Outfielder Kevin Koski finished second to Finigan in the 2005 Valley batting race, as he posted a .380 average at the plate with 92 hits, an SIU single-season record that still stands today.

Southern has hit over .300 in five seasons under his watch, including in 2010 when the Salukis hit .308, the highest team batting average since SIU also hit .308 in 1999. The Salukis also belted 52 home runs in 2010, which was the most in 12 years. In 1997 and 1998, Henderson led the Salukis to back-to-back seasons with 70 or more home runs, with the 1997 squad setting the school record with 75 homers.

Henderson's squads over the years have also been able to hang their hats on defense.

In 2002, he led SIU's defense to an impressive .969 fielding percentage, as the Salukis led the Missouri Valley Conference and finished tied for 14th in the nation.

In both 2003 and 2004, SIU ranked among the Top 10 in double plays per game, leading the nation in 2003 and finishing ninth in 2004.

Prior to joining Southern Illinois for the 1991 season, Henderson served as an assistant coach at Oral Roberts where he assembled several recruiting classes that ranked among the nation's elite by Collegiate Baseball. In 1987, he helped lead ORU to a 49-14 record and runner-up finish at the NCAA West I Regional.

A 1983 graduate of Missouri Southern State, Henderson played for one of the nation's top NCAA Division II programs. Following graduation, he began his coaching tenure at his alma mater before moving on to coach at Kansas State from 1984-86.

A native of Vinita, Okla., Henderson, 51, is in his 28th season coaching at the NCAA Division I level. He and his wife, Pam, reside in Carterville with their two sons, Keegan (17) and Connor (12).