South Dakota State University Athletics

Eric Henderson was promoted to head coach of Jackrabbit men's basketball March 27, 2019 and enters his fifth season at the helm in 2023-24. He previously spent three years as an assistant at South Dakota State, rising to associate head coach for the 2018-19 campaign.
 
Henderson has posted a 87-35 overall record and a 53-11 mark in the Summit League in his four years as head coach. Henderson's squads having never finished worse than second in The Summit League standings and won at least a share of the Summit League regular season title in three seasons.

The 2021-22 season was the cap to what had been built by Henderson and his coaching staff during his tenure. The Jackrabbits went 30-5 overall and 18-0 in Summit League play. The undefeated conference record was a first in league history, while SDSU became the first team ever in the Summit League to reach 30 wins in a season. The Jacks held the longest active win streak in the country through part of the regular season and eventually reached 21 consecutive victories after the 2022 Summit League Championship game, with the program going from Dec. 15 to March 17 without a defeat. SDSU received votes in the Associated Press Top 25 poll during the regular season for just the second time in program history.

Henderson's group completed their first tournament title run with him at the helm, and first since 2018, and went on to face Providence in the NCAA Tournament. Henderson was named the Summit League Coach of the Year and was selected by his peers as the NABC District 12 Coach of the Year. His team completed several noteworthy statistics during the season as SDSU led the country in 3-point field goal percentage (44.5%) and finished second in both field goal percentage (52.1%) and scoring offense (85.9). His players also achieved numerous accolades with both Baylor Schierman and Douglas Wilson being selected as finalists for the Lou Henson Award, given to the best mid-major men's player in the nation. Schierman would be awarded the conference MVP award, Wilson earned the league's tournament MVP honors, while Luke Appel (Sixth Man of the Year) and Zeke Mayo (All-Newcomer Team) were also recognized with conference accolades. 

In his time as head coach, Henderson has had his program face the best of the best in college basketball. Recently, the 2022-23 season saw the Jackrabbits face the 10th toughest non-conference schedule in Division I men's hoops. Along with tough competition, the Jackrabbits continue to have high-caliber performers which have extended a streak of 13 straight years with an All-Summit League First team selection as Mayo was honored in 2023. His time has also been efficient in the classroom, reguarly recording semester grade-point averages over 3.30 which was boosted by the Academic All-America efforts of Matt Dentlinger.

The Jackrabbits have continued a string of home-court dominance under Henderson's guidance. SDSU is 48-3 in Frost Arena during Henderson's tenure as head coach while the program's .944 winning percentage in Brookings since the 2015-16 season is tied for the best mark in all of Division I Men's basketball with Gonzaga. In a span since Henderson came to SDSU when he arrived in 2016, the Jackrabbits have parlayed theirr success into three NCAA Tournament berths (2017, 2018, 2022) and an NIT appearance in 2019.

Henderson’s first season in 2019-20 as a collegiate head coach was a historic one as he was named The Summit League Coach of the Year while guiding the Jackrabbits to a 22-10 record and share of their third-straight Summit League regular season title. Henderson coached three all-league performers, including the league’s Player (Douglas Wilson) and Freshman (Noah Freidel) of the Year. SDSU went 16-0 at home in 2019-20 and posted a 13-3 record in league play.
 
The 22nd head coach in Jackrabbit basketball history, Henderson began his coaching career as an assistant at Wayne State (Neb.) from 2001-03 and returned to the collegiate ranks as an assistant at North Dakota State from 2014-16 after coaching in the prep ranks in Wisconsin.

A 2000 graduate of Wayne State (Neb.), Henderson began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater from 2001-03 as an assistant coach. After coaching girls' basketball at Wayne Community School for two seasons, he moved on to Iowa State, where he was the graduate manager for the Cyclones' men's basketball team from 2006-08 and a learning specialist for the 2008-09 season. He returned to coaching in the prep ranks at Burlington Catholic Central High School in Burlington, Wisconsin, from 2009-14, while also serving stints as principal and athletic director.
 
He and his wife, Alicia, live in Brookings, South Dakota with their four children, sons Kooper, Kort and Kyler, and daughter McKinley.