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Danielle Henderson has been hired as the head coach at Massachusetts (UMass), the school announced on Wednesday morning.
Henderson, a UMass program alumnus, spent the last seven seasons as the head coach at UMass-Lowell. She led the River Hawks to their first-ever America East championship with the regular-season title in 2019; the River Hawks twice finished as the runners-up in the conference standings, in 2017 and ’18.
A victor of 118 games during her tenure with the River Hawks, Henderson also helped guide the program through their transition to full Division I eligibility; the softball squad played in the America East tournament championship game in their first season of eligibility in 2018.
“I am thrilled to be back at UMass,” Henderson said in a UMass press release. “I want to thank Ryan Bamford for allowing me this opportunity to return home to lead this program. UMass has always held a special place in my heart and I want to give back to the University and all the players that have been a part of the program’s rich history. I am looking forward to carrying on the winning traditions of UMass softball.”
Prior to her tenure at UMass-Lowell, Henderson had been on staff at UMass as associate head coach in 2014 and spent four years on staff with the program at the turn of the century. Her coaching resume also includes stints at Ohio State and Stanford.
In addition to her multiple coaching tenures at UMass, Henderson was a 3-time All-American during her playing career with the Minutewomen and is the only 4-time Atlantic 10 conference tournament Most Outstanding Player in league history. At the close of her collegiate playing career in 1999, she owned 25 program records and recorded fourteen no-hitters and three perfect games during her career. She led the Minutewomen to the Women’s College World Series in 1997 and 1998, and was part of the gold-medal-winning Team USA roster at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
