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14 NCAA TOURNAMENT APPEARANCES
5 COLLEGE WORLD SERIES APPEARANCES
9
Ken Henderson enters his third season as
head coach of the Salukis after guiding SIU to
the championship game of the Missouri Valley
Conference Tournament in 2012. The 2013 season
will be his 23rd season as a member of the SIU
coaching staff. In November of 2012, SIU extended
Henderson’s contract through the 2014 season.
Henderson took over as the interim head coach
following the passing of Dan Callahan after the
2010 season and had the interim tag removed
following the 2011 season.
In 2012 Henderson coached SIU to a 31-28
record, an improvement by eight wins over his
first season as head coach and recorded its first
season with a winning record since 2008. The
Salukis remained in the race for the regular season
conference title until the final two weeks of the
season. One of the season highlights included a road
victory over No. 19 Stetson as the Dawgs swept
their way through the Bright House Invitational,
hosted by Stetson.
In addition, first baseman Chris Serritella
was named a 2012 All-American by five different
organizations. He was a Baseball America first-
team All-American, the first in 31 years at SIU.
Serritella won the 2012 MVC batting title and led
the conference in seven other offensive categories.
Serritella was drafted by the Phillies in the
fourth round in 2012, and left-handed pitcher
Nathan Dorris went to the Cubs in the 17th round.
Henderson has coached a total of 34 players at
Southern Illinois who have gone on to be drafted.
Included in that list are 2009 World Series
Champion Jerry Hairston, Jr. (currently with the
Los Angeles Dodgers), Jason Frasor (currently with
the Toronto Blue Jays) and P.J. Finigan, now an
assistant coach with Henderson at SIU.
In Henderson’s two seasons as head coach,
the Salukis have garnered nine All-MVC spots,
including seven on the 2012 squad. The 2012
team featured three first-team members, Austin
Montgomery (utility), Chris Serritella (first base)
and Jordan Sivertsen (outfield). The second team
featured designated hitter Brock Harding and
pitchers Todd Eaton, Cody Forsythe and Cameron
Maldonado. Forsythe was a first-teamer in 2011,
while Sivertsen was on the second team.
The Salukis also placed three players on the
MVC’s 2012 All-Tournament team with Brian
Bajer, Todd Eaton and Chris Serritella.
In 2011, Henderson’s first full season as interim
head coach, the loyal Saluki and veteran coach
guided Southern Illinois to a fifth-place finish in
the Missouri Valley Conference, 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, andWeld was Southern’s top reliever in 2010
when he struck out a team-high 57 batters in 29
appearances.
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.
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.
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.
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 798-773-2 record.
He enters the year with a 66-70 record in two-plus
seasons as head coach.
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 is in his
29th season coaching at the NCAA Division I level.
He and his wife, Pam, reside in Carterville. They
have two sons, Keegan (18) and Connor (13).
KEN
Henderson
HEAD COACH
Head Coaching Experience: 3rd Year
Overall Experience: 29th Year
At SIU: 23rd Year
Alma Mater: Missouri Southern State, 1983
Arkansas State
0-1
Austin Peay
2-0
Belmont
0-1
Bradley
6-6
Creighton
5-3
Dallas Baptist
1-4
Eastern Illinois
1-1
Evansville
5-3
Georgia State
1-0
Grambling
1-0
Illinois
4-3
Illinois State
2-7
Indiana State
5-4
IPFW
3-0
Jacksonville State 3-3
Kennesaw State
1-2
Le Moyne
0-1
Louisiana Tech
0-1
Memphis
1-0
Middle Tennessee 1-3
Missouri State
4-5
Murray State
3-2
Northern Illinois 1-2
Nicholls State
1-0
North Florida
2-1
Northern Iowa
2-1
Oral Roberts
1-0
Penn
1-0
Saint Louis
1-2
SE Missouri St.
1-3
South Carolina
0-3
Stetson
1-0
UT Martin
1-3
Western Kentucky 2-1
Wichita State
3-4
Bold indicates MVC
Career Head Coaching
Record Against Opponents
THE HENDERSON FILE
Born: Sept. 28, 1960
Birthplace: Vinita, Okla.
High School: Vinita (Okla.)
College: bachelor’s degree, Missouri Southern
State (1983)
Spouse: Pam
Children: Keegan (18), Connor (13)
Coaching Experience
• Assistant Coach - Missouri Southern State
(1983)
• Assistant Coach - Kansas State (1984-86)
• Assistant Coach - Oral Roberts (1987-89)
• Assistant Coach - Southern Illinois (1990-92)
• Associate Head Coach - Southern Illinois (1993-
2010)
• Interim Head Coach - Southern Illinois (1994,
2011)
• Head Coach - Southern Illinois (2012-present)
Head Coaching Record
Year
Record Pct. MVC Pct. Finish
1994
12-8
.600
8-8
.500
5th
2011
23-34
.404 11-10 .524
5th
2012
31-28
.525 9-12
.429
6th
Totals 66-70
.485 28-30 .483
3
HEAD COACH KEN HENDERSON