Jim Penders

Biography

Jim Penders enters his 23rd season at the helm for the Huskies in 2026. A five-time conference Coach of the Year, Penders has overseen one of the most successful stretches in the 129-year history of UConn baseball. Penders has worked with the University of Connecticut baseball program in 33 of the last 36 years, being associated with the Huskies as a student-athlete, an assistant coach and now head coach. The Huskies have the longest tenured coaching staff in Division I baseball. Overall in his tenure, Penders holds a 773-496-5 record. On May 16, 2019, Penders surpassed his mentor, Andy Baylock, for most wins in UConn history by securing his 557th victory in a 8-5 win at Tulane. He has led the Huskies to 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, and three Super Regional appearances in 2011, 2022 & 2024. UConn has also won a regular season or conference title 10 times with Penders in the dugout and hosted the 2010 Norwich Regional. Under his watch, 18 Huskies have earned All-America honors, most recently Ryan Daniels in 2025. In 22 seasons as head coach for the Huskies, Penders has had a total of 79 players either drafted or signed by professional baseball clubs and had nine former players play in the MLB. During the 2015 MLB season a program-record five former Huskies played in the big leagues: Nick Ahmed ('11) of the Diamondbacks, Matt Barnes ('11) of the Red Sox, Scott Oberg ('12) of the Rockies, Mike Olt ('11) of the Cubs and George Springer ('11) of the Astros. The feat occurred ag