Northeastern State University Athletics

The 2022 campaign is the seventh for Jake Hendrick as head baseball coach at NSU. He was announced to his current role on July 17, 2015.

Northeastern State has reached new heights in its NCAA Division II era under the 2021 MIAA Coach of the Year. The RiverHawks had their best ERA during the regular season (4.81) since 2002 and best winning percentage since the same season. NSU went 26-16 and 23-10 in the MIAA while clinching the No. 2 seed and home field in the playoffs for the first time since 1996. Seven position players and four pitchers earned All-MIAA accolades while Nic Swanson and Blaze Brothers earned First-Team recognition. It was the largest All-MIAA class in program history. He also surpassed 100 career wins in the first home series of the season.

Since becoming head coach in 2015, Hendrick has led several improvements to Thomas C. Rousey Field which include: new bullpens, re-done foul territory fencing, and a remodel of the club house batting cage.

The previous two seasons have seen down performances due to uncontrollable outside factors where the RiverHawks finished 12-37 in 2019 and 9-12 in the COVID-19 shortened spring of 2020. In 2020 the team split its two MIAA series.

The RiverHawks finished with 28 wins, the most since 2002, while playing the seventh toughest schedule in the nation in 2018.  Hendrick's pitching staff was also in to the top half of the MIAA in ERA and opponent batting average, with a no-hitter recorded on April 18 against Ark.-Fort Smith.  In the postseason, the RiverHawks reached the MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals, and had seven All-MIAA honors.  Hendrick and Northeastern State also had one MLB Draft Selection with Ben Strahm being picked in the 23rd round by the San Francisco Giants.  In the fall of 2017, the RiverHawks had a 3.20 team grade point average.

In 2017, NSU finished 22-25 and 15-20 in MIAA. 

During his first term as skipper in 2016, he led the RiverHawks to their fourth-straight trip to the postseason. NSU sported a 27-23 record and boasted a winning mark for the fourth time in the last five campaigns. Northeastern State also went 21-17 in the MIAA and finished sixth in the league. The RiverHawks had one all-region performer, six All-MIAA honorees and the MIAA Freshman of the Year in pitcher Zach Parish.

Hendrick served as NSU's pitching coach for two years prior to being elevated to head coach (2014-15). In those two short years, Hendrick transformed the RiverHawks' pitching staff to one of the best in the program's storied history.

The 2015 pitching staff posted a sub-5.00 ERA (4.86) for the first time in NSU's NCAA era (since 1996) and shattered the school record for most strikeouts in a single season (350). Northeastern State posted an opposing batting average of .277, which was the lowest since 1996. Closer Jake Kern also tied the school record with 10 saves and posted a stellar 1.80 ERA. He was named to the 2015 All-MIAA Second Team for his efforts.

During his first year with the RiverHawks, Hendrick helped the pitching staff boast the lowest ERA in more than 12 years (5.56).

He was also instrumental in coaching pitcher Ryan Helsley, who became the highest drafted player in school history when he was selected in the fifth round (No. 161 overall) of the 2015 MLB Draft by the St. Louis Cardinals.

Helsley was the lone underclassman named to the 2015 All-MIAA First Team, and he became just the third NSU baseball player since 1996 to earn a conference specialty award when he was named the 2014 MIAA Freshman of the Year. Helsley broke the school record for strikeouts in a single season when he fanned 95 batters in 2015.

Northeastern State boasted the MIAA's strikeout leader in both 2015 (Helsley) and 2016 (Parish with a new school record of 107).

Hendrick spent summer 2013 as the head assistant coach for the Charles Town Cannons in Charles Town, West Virginia. He was in charge of defensive positioning and was the third-base coach for a team that finished second in the North Division.

The Naperville, Illinois, native was the pitching coach in 2012-13 at Marion Military Institute in Marion, Alabama. MMI is a Division I JUCO member of the Alabama Community College Conference.

Hendrick also served in summer 2012 as the pitching coach of the Winchester Royals in Winchester, Virginia. The squad captured the North Division regular-season title and won the North Division Pennant. Winchester was ranked as high as No. 8 by PerfectGame Baseball and finished with a 36-16 record after advancing to the championship of the Lineweaver Cup playoffs.

Prior to his stint with the Royals, Hendrick assisted at Stillwater High School in Stillwater, Oklahoma, from 2009-12. He helped lead the squad to a state tournament bid in his final year.

He earned a bachelor of science degree in business administration with a focus in marketing from Oklahoma State University in 2011. He also received a master of science degree in health and human performance with a focus in sports administration from Fort Hays State University in 2014.

Hendrick is the son of Bill and Karen Hendrick and has three younger siblings, Richard, Kelley and Kasey. He is married to Danielle Nichols and the couple has one son, Cooper.

The Hendrick File

Personal

• Hometown: Austin, Texas
• Birthday: April 30, 1988
• Wife: Danielle
• Children: William "Cooper" Hendrick - born on June 21, 2018

Education

• College: Oklahoma State  - Bachelors of Science, Business Administration, 2001
• College: Fort Hays State - Masters of Science, Health and Human Performance, 2014

Coaching Experience

2010-12	Stillwater High School (Assistant Coach)
2012-13	Marion Military Institute (Assistant Coach)
2013-15	Northeastern State (Assistant Coach)
2016-	Northeastern State (Head Coach)

Head Coaching Record

Year	School	Overall Record	Conference Record	Postseason
2021	Northeastern State	26-16	23-10	MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2020	Northeastern State	9-12	3-4
2019	Northeastern State	12-37	9-24
2018	Northeastern State	28-24	18-18	MIAA Tournament Quarterfinals
2017	Northeastern State	22-25	15-20
2016	Northeastern State	27-23	21-17	MIAA Tournament
6 years		Total Overall	Total Conference
		124-137 - 0.475	89-93 - 0.489

What others are saying about  NSU baseball coach Jake Hendrick
Josh Holliday, Oklahoma State Head Coach
"Jake is an outstanding hire. I have really enjoyed getting to know him over the past three years and look forward to watching the NSU program continue to grow under his leadership. Jake is a high-character individual and I believe you will see that throughout the program. His commitment to the development of the players will be seen both on the field and in the classroom. NSU is getting a fine coach and an excellent young family to lead their program. Congratulations to Tony Duckworth and the university on an excellent hire."
 
Travis Janssen, Former NSU Head Coach/Current Austin Peay State University Head Coach
"I'm so happy for Coach Hendrick to be named head coach at NSU. I'm very passionate about NSU and so glad that Mr. Duckworth made this decision. Bringing first class people aboard is a good place to start. Coach Hendrick and his wife, Danielle, are both top shelf type of people. They will be outstanding representatives of the NSU athletics department. Coach Hendrick is ready to lead the program. He is organized, passionate, prepared, and level headed. His strengths are numerous. Stack on top of that he knows all the positives that NSU has to offer and has a great baseball mind. He was a no-brainer. I'm proud to have worked with Coach Hendrick and just so excited for him. I think NSU baseball is in a great place, and I think he will do a great job!"
 
Roland Fanning, University of Arkansas at Little Rock Assistant Coach
"It's a big-time hire! Jake Hendrick is a fast rising star in college baseball. He has a great family and a passion for the college game. Mr. Duckworth and the NSU family landed a great baseball mind but an even better person. NSU is lucky to have him."