903-602-1 Overall Record (26 Seasons)
822-564 at Georgia Southern (24 Seasons)
2000 SoCon Coach of the Year
2001 SoCon Coach of the Year
Georgia Southern head coach Rodney Hennon finished his 24th season in the Blue and White in 2023, which saw him with both his 800th game at Georgia Southern and his 900th game in his head coaching career. Hennon also tied legendary Eagles skipper Jack Stallings for the longest tenured baseball coach in school history with 24 seasons under his belt.
Hennon completed his 23rd season at Georgia Southern in 2022, where he led the Eagles to its first NCAA Regional since the 2014 season. The Eagles were labeled as the #16 National Seed and hosted the Statesboro Regional for the first time in program history. Coach Hennon also saw Georgia Southern earn its first 40+ win season in eight years, finishing with a 41-20 record. GS made its fifth SBC Championship game in six years, and won its most conference games since 2000, going 23-7 in a Sun Belt Conference that sent four teams to the postseason.
In 2021, coach Hennon led the Eagles to a 34-23 record, returning to the Sun Belt Championship game for the fourth time in five seasons. During the 2021 season, Mason McWhorter and Nick Jones earned NCBWA, ABCA and Collegiate Baseball All-American honors.
During the 2021 season, McWhorter was named Sun Belt Player of the Year and CoSIDA Academic All-American, while Jones was named a Stopper of the Year Finalist.
Head Coach Rodney Hennon enters his 22nd season at Georgia Southern in 2021, after guiding the Eagles to an 11-5 record in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. During the Coach Hennon Era, Georgia Southern has posted 30 or more wins in 20 of the 22 seasons and three 40-win seasons.
Hennon has guided the Eagles to six NCAA Regionals including the 2014 Tallahassee Regional, where GS defeated #5 national seed Florida State 7-0. He has led the Eagles to 11 regular season or tournament conference titles including Southern Conference Tournament Titles in 2009, 2011 and 2014. The Eagles won their First Sun Belt Championship in 2019 by taking the East Division Crown after an 18-12 finish in league play.
Since taking over the storied program before the 2000 season, Hennon has accumulated a 720-492 record with a .594 winning percentage. In all during his 22 total seasons as a head coach, he has amassed a career record of 801-530-1.
In 2020, Hennon picked up his 800th career victory in style, as the Eagles took the series from No. 3 Georgia at SRP Park in North Augusta, South Carolina. The blue and white won the game 1-0 and went on to sweep No. 3 Georgia for the first time since 2015.
During the Eagles final eight seasons in the Southern Conference, Hennon led the Eagles to three SoCon Tournament Championships and two tournament final appearances. He also led the Eagles to a tournament title in 2000 and 2002 and regular season championships in 2000 and 2001.
Hennon surpassed legendary coach J.I. Clements for second place on the school’s all-time wins list during the 2008 season when he picked up his 321st Georgia Southern win in a 17-13 victory over The Citadel on May 2nd. In 2019, Coach Hennon reached the 700 wins milestone with the Eagles by defeating South Alabama 16-12 on April 27th. When he captured his 100th career victory on April 8, 2000, he reached the triple-digit milestone quicker than any other coach in Southern Conference history.
During his tenure, Hennon has guided the Eagles to at least a fourth-place finish in the Southern Conference regular season 12 times, including six runner-up or championship finishes. The Eagles also advanced to the NCAA Regionals for three consecutive years from 2000-2003.
While the Eagles have continued their winning tradition on the field, Hennon has put an emphasis on success in the classroom. Academics have always been a high priority for Hennon, and the Sun Belt Conference recognized 23 members of the 2014 squad on either its Academic Honor Roll or Commissioner’s List. The 2018 Eagles broke program records for best team GPA in both the fall and spring semesters. In 2008, David Richardson (2nd Team), Chris Shehan (3rd Team) and Brian Pierce (3rd Team) all earned CoSIDA Academic All-District accolades. During the 2005-06 academic year, the baseball team posted the highest GPA of any Georgia Southern men’s team that year.
Hennon has produced talent on the field as well, coaching five All-America performers and 45 major league draft picks. Victor Roache was the latest Eagle to be called an All-American after hitting a NCAA-best 30 home runs in 2011. Three Eagles from the 2018 squad received the call with Brian Eichhorn (Cleveland), Chase Cohen (Oakland), and Blakely Brown (New York Yankees) selected in the draft. Seth Shuman’s sixth round selection in 2019 gave the Eagles nine selections in the past three seasons.
Hennon’s 2019 squad was picked to finish fourth in the Sun Belt’s preseason coaches’ poll. The squad deified expectations and scored the program’s first East Division Championship, going 18-12 in league play. The Eagles played one of the nation’s toughest non-conference schedules, going 35-24 and defeating five NCAA Tournament teams. In the postseason, the Eagles reached the Sun Belt Championship Game for the third time in four seasons, ultimately falling to Costal Carolina.
The 2018 Eagles featured one of the nation's youngest teams with four true freshmen routinely featured in the starting lineup. Georgia Southern posted a 30-26 overall record and tied for the third-best league record at 18-11.
Georgia Southern made its second-straight Sun Belt Championship Final appearance in 2017, reaching the final day at the friendly confines and dropping a heartbreaking extra innings defeat to South Alabama. The Eagles finished the campaign with a 38-21 overall record including a series win over the defending National Champions, Coastal Carolina, and multiple wins over NCAA Tournament teams.
The 2017 season was not only an outstanding year on the field, but also in terms of Eagles in the draft. Five Eagles received the call to play professional baseball. The draft class matched the largest in Georgia Southern. Additionally, two more former Eagles continued their careers with free agent and independent signings.
In the Eagles debut season in the Sun Belt Conference, Hennon’s Eagles went 18-12 to place fourth in the league. The 2016 squad backed that up with a fifth-place finish in the regular season and three-straight wins in the Sun Belt Tournament to reach Championship Sunday for the first time in the new league.
The Eagles posted a 36-24 overall mark in 2016 with a 14-13 league record. The Eagles cut their strikeout total by 12% in 2016 and scored 57 more runs in their second year in the Fun Belt. Hennon’s Eagles took advantage of that increase in scoring, posting a 23-2 record when scoring six or more runs.
Hennon led GS to a 13-game improvement over the 2013 season and posted his fourth 40-win season as the Eagles rallied from a first-round defeat in the Southern Conference Tournament to win the Tournament Title and reach the NCAA Regionals. The Regional was the sixth appearance for Hennon as a head coach. The Eagles finished tied for third in the SoCon during the 2014 regular season and posted wins over Georgia, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Florida State. The Eagles had three players drafted following the season and a pair of freshmen were named Freshman All-American (Garrett Chapman and Ryan Cleveland).
In 2011 Georgia Southern advanced to their second regional in three seasons after winning the Southern Conference Tournament behind a 1-0 complete game shutout by Chris Beck. The Eagles faced eventual national champion South Carolina in the opening game and scored the game’s first run before falling 2-1. The Eagles were awarded with both the SoCon Pitcher of the Year in Matt Murray and the Player of the Year in Victor Roache. Roache set both the school and SoCon record with his 30 home runs.
In 2008 Georgia Southern put up staggering offensive numbers, not only program record-setting numbers but also statistics that ranked among the nation’s best. The Eagles finished the year nationally ranked in various offensive categories: second in batting average (.346); second in scoring (10.3 runs per game); fourth in doubles (2.66 p/g); second in home runs (114); second in slugging percentage (.584); 13th in walks (302); 15th in stolen bases (108); 10th in sacrifice flies (37); and 36th in hit by pitches (80). The offensive juggernauts set GSU records with 114 home runs (3rd in SoCon season ‘Top 10’), six grand slams (1st SoCon), 595 runs scored (2nd SoCon), 543 RBI (2nd SoCon), 1,269 total bases (2nd SoCon) and 751 hits (5th SoCon). The 154 doubles were second most (5th SoCon), and the .346 team batting average was the highest total in the modern era (tied 5th SoCon). Georgia Southern’s .584 slugging percentage was the second-highest average in the SoCon record books, and the 37 sacrifice flies tied for second-most.
One of the most impressive offensive displays - not only in Georgia Southern history but in the nation - came in mid-March 2008 at home against Columbia. The Eagles slammed a NCAA Division I record 14 home runs during a 26-8 rout of the Lions. In fact, 12 different Eagles went deep, including a stretch of three straight pinch-hit home runs in the eighth inning. Two games later against the Lions, Georgia Southern pounded out another 13 extra-base hits in a 22-8 victory.
During the 2005 campaign, the Eagles put together one of the most dominating offenses in the country led by a pair of .400 hitters in Greg Dowling and James Payne. GSU posted a .331 team batting average that season which helped lead to 38 wins and a runner-up SoCon finish. Not only did that impressive batting average rank third best in GS history, but also the fifth highest in the nation. Southern also ranked 11th nationally in slugging percentage, 25th in scoring and home runs, 47th in stolen bases and 22nd in doubles per game.
From 2000 to 2003 Hennon guided the Eagles to three NCAA regionals, three SoCon Tournament Championship games and two regular season conference championships. In 2001 Georgia Southern won 42 games, 21 of those coming in SoCon play which led to its second-straight regular season title. The postseason saw the Eagles Defeat No. 9 Georgia in the NCAA Regionals for the school’s first win in the postseason since 1996.
Faced with a continuing set of obstacles and hurdles during his initial spring in 2000, Hennon led a spirited and over-achieving 19-man Eagle squad to a 38-23 record, a Southern Conference regular season and tournament championship, and the school’s first NCAA Regional appearance in four years. Along with a trimmed down pitching staff of just six arms, Hennon’s club set a new school record with a 23-7 league mark and won 23 of its last 33 games after finishing February and March just two games over .500 at 15-13.
Twice named Southern Conference Coach of the Year, Hennon came to Georgia Southern after two seasons (1998-99) as head coach of his alma mater Western Carolina. After accepting an offer to guide the Western Carolina program in July 1997, Hennon quickly added his own distinctive chapters to one of the winningest programs in the Southern Conference. During his inaugural campaign as head coach in 1998, Hennon led the Catamounts to a 45-15 overall record and a 20-6 SoCon mark, tying the WCU mark for most victories in a single year and ranking sixth among all NCAA Division I members in winning percentage. His players claimed both the Southern Conference’s Pitcher and Player of the Year awards while seven signed professional contracts at the conclusion of the season.
In addition, the 1998 WCU squad led the nation in stolen bases with 153, which shattered a 33-year-old school record and a 16-year-old conference mark. He directed a pitching staff which also enjoyed an outstanding season, turning in a 4.01 earned run average to rank 11th nationally, while finishing ninth among all Division I institutions with 499 strikeouts.
Hennon followed up his record-setting initial season with a 36-23-1 mark, which included a third-place league standing at 18-10. The Catamounts easily distinguished themselves as the SoCon’s top offensive squad with conference bests in batting average (.328), on-base percentage (.413), slugging percentage (.523), runs (502), hits (684), home runs (82) and runs batted in (445) while finishing second in triples (20) and third in stolen bases (123). Hennon guided one of the league’s youngest pitching staffs to a 5.70 earned run average - rating third among all conference teams.
Prior to taking over the WCU head coaching duties, Hennon served as a full-time assistant coach for his alma mater for three seasons. As an assistant coach, Hennon helped lead the Cats to a 42-20 record, a Southern Conference title, and NCAA Tournament appearance in 1997 as a member of the late Keith LeClair’s staff. He joined the WCU baseball staff in 1994 as a part-time assistant after earning numerous on-field and classroom honors during his playing career from 1990 to 1993.
A Second Team All-SoCon choice in 1992, Hennon batted .367 to lead the SoCon in hits and runs scored, while sparking the Catamounts to the league regular season and tournament championship. Despite his all-tournament performance (eight hits and five RBI), WCU fell one game short of reaching the College World Series after falling to Florida State in NCAA South II Regional Championship play. A year later as a senior, Hennon earned First Team All-SoCon honors, again leading the league in hits and runs scored and helping the Catamounts to the NCAA South Regional in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. When he left WCU, he ranked first among the school’s season leaders in games started and at-bats, while standing tied for 19th in runs scored and 23rd for hits.
Hennon earned his bachelor’s degree in Economics from Western Carolina in 1993. In the classroom, he was a two-time GTE-CoSIDA Academic All-America choice as he posted a 3.55 grade point average during his four years of undergraduate work in WCU’s College of Business. Hennon was also named to the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll in each of his four years while competing as a student-athlete.
Hennon is married to the former Kim Estes of Fairburn, and they are the parents of three children - Walker, Keeli and Carter.
