K.J. Hendricks Position: Assistant Coach Experience: 4th Year Alma Mater: UT Arlington, 2008

K.J. Hendricks enters his fourth season with the Mavericks in 2011, his second as an assistant coach. Hendricks spent the two previous seasons on the UT Arlington staff as a volunteer assistant (2009) and team chaplain (2008). Hendricks serves as the team's hitting and defensive coach.

It took no time to measure Hendricks' impact.

In his first year as the UTA hitting coach, Hendricks helped Michael Choice win the Southland Conference batting title with a .383 average. Choice also belted 16 home runs and led the nation with 76 walks and finished second in the nation with a .568 on-base percentage. In doing so, Choice earned the Southland Conference Hitter of the Year and Player of the Year awards in addition to being named First-Team All-SLC. Choice also made several All-America teams before the Oakland Athletics made him the 10th overall selection in the 2010 Major League Baseball draft.

Choice wasn't alone in finding prosperity in the Mavericks' batting order last season.

Preston Beck set UTA freshman records with 82 hits and by ending the season on a 20-game hitting streak - a streak he carried into the 2011 campaign. Beck batted .352 (second on the team) and proved especially difficult to strike out (fanning just 28 times in 257 plate appearances). For his play as a freshman, Louisville Slugger honored him with a spot on its Freshman All-America team.

Hendricks mentored six full-time starters to batting averages of .300 or better and eight regular starters to on-base percentages of .340 or better. Jordan Vaughn and Jesse Payne enjoyed five-hit games during the season and Payne strung together an unbelievable stretch during which he recorded hits in seven consecutive plate appearances.

By the year's end, Hendricks helped steer the UTA offense to top-10 finishes in program history in home runs, RBI, runs scored, hits and doubles.

Hendricks was the Mavs' first-base coach in 2009 and also handled the team's speed and agility while assisting with the team's hitting, infield, outfield and base running. The Mavericks had three of the top five batters in the Southland Conference and led the SLC with a .971 fielding percentage in 2009.

During the past two seasons on the Mavericks' staff, Hendricks has helped mentor several of UTA's top offensive players over the past decade.

Six players have finished batting in the top five in the Southland Conference in consecutive seasons, while in 2009, three Mavericks batted over .400 - which is the first time in school history a set of teammates batted over .400 in a season.

Hendricks returned to UT Arlington in the fall of 2007 after completing his professional playing career that spanned six seasons with the Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles and Fort Worth Cats. Hendricks earned his bachelor's degree at UT Arlington in 2008.

Hendricks played his freshman season at Temple College before joining the Mavericks for a standout two-year career from 2001-2002. Hendricks was then selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 2002 MLB Draft in the 26th round with the 771st overall selection.

He played three seasons in the Rockies farm system before finishing his career playing one season in the Baltimore Orioles minor league system and one season with the Fort Worth Cats.

Hendricks batted .314 with 32 RBI and was 21-of-24 in stolen bases in his first professional season. He followed with a team-best and career-high 50 stolen bases with 11 doubles, three triples and three home runs and posted 69 runs scored in his first Single-A season in Ashville, N.C. (South Atlantic League).

In 2005, Hendricks was named the "Fastest Base Runner" in the Colorado Rockies farm system by Baseball America.

His last season with the Rockies was another successful campaign batting .286 (136-for-475) with 100 runs, 20 doubles, five triples, three home runs, 54 RBI and 34 stolen bases with class-A Visalia Oaks in the California League. He completed his professional career with 134 stolen bases and a career batting average of .284.

In his first year playing at UT Arlington, Hendricks earned second team All-Southland Conference honors as well as earning the nickname "The Pest" by late UT Arlington head coach Clay Gould because of Hendricks' aggressive playing style.

In 2001 he batted a team-high .328 and led the Southland Conference with 36 stolen bases. The stolen base total ties for fifth all-time at UTA. His 57 runs scored are eighth-best in Mavericks history. He helped lead the Mavericks to the SLC Tournament championship while being named Most Valuable Player. He batted .391 (9-for-23) in the tournament.

As a junior, Hendricks put up even more impressive numbers. His .353 batting average was a career-best, and he swiped another 33 bases in 38 attempts. He led the Mavs with 40 walks, 82 hits and a .450 on-base percentage.

Hendricks ranks fourth on the all-time UTA career stolen bases list with 69, which is the most in UTA history for a two-year letterwinner.