Pompano Beach, FL – Black College Championships welcomes the addition of Kentucky State head baseball coach Rob Henry to the Black College World Series staff. Henry will begin his role as an advisor.

“We are so excited to have Henry join our staff,” said Michael Coker, Executive Director and Founder of the Black College World Series. “His resume speaks for itself, but the trust he has built and the character he demonstrates makes this a great addition to our staff.”

Rob Henry has just completed his twelfth year at the helm of the Kentucky State baseball program.

Coach Henry and the KSU baseball program have steadily improved in recent years. In 2023, Breds 1st baseman Joe Esparza was named SIAC Player of the Year on the strength of his 16 home runs and 73 RBI, which lead all of NCAA Division II. Outfielder Collier Higgs was the 2023 KSU Valedictorian and SIAC Man of the Year.

The 2022 Breds capped off a 25-24 record by winning the Division II Bracket of the Black College World Series.

Coach Henry earned his 100th coaching win in the 2019 season opener against Voorhees College and 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 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.

From 2002-2006, Henry served as the top assistant coach at Spalding University. He joined Spaldings staff in the third season with baseball and was responsible for coordinating scouting reports and fundraising activities, also 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 and three draft picks. In his role with the Vikings, Henry assisted with academic advising and eligibility and helped improve the team’s Academic Progress Rate (APR) from 880 to 959.

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

A Lexington, KY native, Henry, served as an instructor for the University of Kentucky Baseball Camp each year from 1999-2019. 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). He also contributes articles to the Black College Nines website

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 lives in Lexington, KY with his wife Tricia and son Joshua.