The Bulldogs beat Vanderbilt in extra innings on Monday to win a Super Regional. They are now the 10th and most unlikely team in Mississippi State history that will advance to the College World Series. To make my decision, I don’t have to wait to see what the ‘Dogs do at Omaha. Henderson has already made it happen for me. Henderson was just named Perfect Game/Rawlings National coach of the year. Henderson led a team of 0-3 players that was young and inept, to a success no one could have predicted. Maybe Jake Mangum was right. Let’s recall a February night at Jackson State when the Bulldogs faced their first game under Henderson. This was the day Andy Cannizaro had been fired and Henderson became the interim coach. State won 12-1 over JSU that night. Mangum was then asked about Henderson. Mangum stated, “I trust Coach Henderson 100% I respect him so much.” He said, “We are about to win many games.” It was a false bravado at the time. Let’s go ahead and move three and a quarter months to Sunday night, which was actually Monday morning in Nashville. This was after State beat Vanderbilt in 11 innings in the rubber match at the Super Regional. Mangum, who was the heart and soul for the Bulldogs, said that Coach Henderson “took over and gave us an identity, when we didn’t have one.” But it wasn’t instantaneous. The Bulldogs would also lose their first three SEC matches and go 2-7 in the SEC. Henderson remained steady on the shoulders of the Bulldogs. They began to improve slowly, then picked up speed. Since April 1, the Bulldogs have gone 23-12. They are an incredible 10-1 against top-five USA teams. They won three of their four games against an Ole Miss team that is much higher rated. They won 13 of the 21 games they played in the most difficult college league baseball in the country. They beat No. They defeated No. 1 ranked Florida in the final regular season series. They won the regional and four games after dropping a 20-10 joker to Oklahoma in their first Tallahassee Regional game. They had to defeat host Florida State, No. To stay alive, they had to defeat host Florida State, the No. 7 national seed. They beat Samford and Oklahoma twice, beating the team that had previously embarrassed them. These Bulldogs keep beating the odds – that’s a credit to both their head coach and his staff. Henderson is also a creditor of his staff, which I love. Henderson said to us Monday morning, “I really admire the coaching staff.” “Those guys were open to learning, there was no agenda. It was, “What are we going to do?” Then I let them go. They did what I asked. Jake (Gautreau), Mike (Brown) and Jake (Gautreau), are all to blame for the offensive. This development was amazing. This is something you don’t often see. They are great. My coaching staff is made up of real people. Henderson said, “The kids got onboard.” “They were looking to be leaders, so we gave it to them …”. True, Henderson isn’t your new shiny sports car model for a college baseball coach. He is more laid back than outspoken and brash. He is more focused on work than he talks. He said, “We have a lot to do,” at Jackson State in February. And he has done it. When Henderson resigned from Kentucky, he said that coaching in the SEC was not a job. It’s a lifestyle. The job requires a commitment 24/7/365. “After 30 years of coaching, it has become clear that I am ready to retire for the moment.” This view makes it seem as though the time is done. Henderson may have lost his passion at Kentucky, but he has it back at State. Henderson stated Monday morning that he was honored to be the Mississippi State head coach.