Head Coach Rob Henry is beginning his eleventh year at the helm of the Kentucky State baseball program.
The 2022 season was filled with highlights for the ’Breds. The 25-24 record marked the second-highest single season wins total since the 1980’s, and the season was capped by KSU winning the Division II bracket of the Tyson Foods Black College World Series in Montgomery, Alabama. The Thorobreds also did the job in the classroom, earning distinction from the American Baseball Coaches Association for earning a 3.05 grade point average during the 2021-2022 academic year.
Coach Henry and the KSU baseball program has shown steady improvement in recent years. Coach Henry earned his 100th coaching win in the 2019 season opener against Voorhees College and also became the all-time wins leader in KSU baseball history by virtue of a 20-10 victory over Alice Lloyd College on February 28, 2019. Black College Nines named Coach Henry as its 2019 HBCU Small College Coach of the Year.
In his first year as a collegiate head coach Henry not only led the program to the most wins in 12 years with 14, but the student-athletes were also 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 2012 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 only time in program history. Henry 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 catchers and hitters.
From 2002-2006, Henry served as the top assistant coach at Spalding University. He joined Spalding's staff in the school's third 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 improve 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, 2015), Derby City Summer Collegiate League team Head Coach (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 Sates History) from Western Kentucky University. He currently lives in Lexington, KY with his wife Tricia and son Joshua.
| Year |
School |
Record |
Accomplishments/Notes |
| 2013 |
Kentucky State |
14-29 |
|
| 2014 |
Kentucky State |
15-38 |
|
| 2015 |
Kentucky State |
11-24 |
|
| 2016 |
Kentucky State |
13-29 |
|
| 2017 |
Kentucky State |
20-34 |
|
| 2018 |
Kentucky State |
23-22 |
|
| 2019 |
Kentucky State |
27-16-1 |
BCN Coach of the Year |
| 2020 |
Kentucky State |
12-8-1 |
Season suspended due to coronavirus pandemic |
|
|
|
|
| 9 years |
|
135-200-2 |
|
