James F. Penders is the coach of the

UConn Huskies baseball The UConn Huskies baseball team represents the University of Connecticut, in Storrs, Connecticut, in college baseball. The program is classified as NCAA Division I, and the team competes in the Big East Conference. The team is coached by Jim Pende ...

team. Penders began his time with the Huskies in 1991 as a player on the varsity team. In his senior year, he was named a co-captain and helped to lead the Huskies to victory in the

1994 Big East Conference baseball tournament The 1994 Big East Conference baseball tournament was held at Muzzy Field in Bristol, Connecticut. This was the tenth annual Big East Conference baseball tournament. The Connecticut Huskies won their second tournament championship and claimed the ...

. Penders was named an assistant coach of the Huskies in 1997 and became head coach after the 2003 season.

Playing years

Penders was a co-captain in 1994. The Huskies finished with a 26–19 record and won the Big East Tournament before losing to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

and in the NCAA Regionals and being eliminated. Penders finished the season batting .354 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs.

Coaching career

Penders was hired as a graduate assistant baseball coach before being named a full assistant in 1999. He was promoted to head coach in 2003 after Andy Baylock left the program. Penders won the Big East Coach of the Year honors in 2006, 2010 and 2011, taking the Huskies to the NCAA tournament in each of those three seasons. In 2011, Penders led the Huskies to their first Super Regional. They were eliminated by

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, two games to none. On March 27, 2012, Penders earned his 300th career victory, all at Connecticut, with a win over in-state rival

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...

. The 8th-seeded Huskies won the 2013 Big East Conference baseball tournament in the league's final year before the split.

Head coaching record

Personal life

Penders' father, Jim Penders, Sr., also played baseball at the University of Connecticut and was a member of the Huskies team that played in the

1965 College World Series The 1965 NCAA University Division baseball tournament was played at the end of the 1965 NCAA University Division baseball season to determine the national champion of college baseball. The tournament concluded with eight teams competing in the Col ...

. Penders, Sr. was the head baseball coach at

East Catholic High School East Catholic High School is a private, college preparatory high school located in Manchester, Connecticut, United States, under the auspices of the Archdiocese of Hartford. The parochial school was founded in 1961 and is inspired by the charis ...

from 1969 to 2012 and won four state championships. His brother, Rob Penders, played for the

Richmond Roosters The Richmond Roosters were a professional baseball team based in Richmond, Indiana from 1995-2005. The Roosters played in the independent Frontier League, which at that time had no affiliation with Major League Baseball. The Roosters began play ...

of the

Frontier League The Frontier League is a professional independent baseball league with teams in the Northeastern and Midwestern United States and Eastern Canada. Formed in 1993, it is the oldest currently running independent league in the United States. The le ...

in 1996. He is the current head baseball coach at St. Edwards University. His grandfather, Jim, was the head baseball coach at Stratford High School from 1931 to 1968 and won four state championships. His uncle,

Tom Penders Thomas Vincent Penders (born May 23, 1945) is an American retired college basketball coach, who last coached from 2004 through 2010 at the University of Houston. He is from Stratford, Connecticut and has a 649–437 career record. As a college at ...

, served as the head basketball coach at

Tufts University Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, Fordham University, the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Isla ...

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,07 ...

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

and the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the university in Texas with over 47,000 students. Its campus, which is primarily in s ...

. From 1994–1996, Penders lived in Washington, D.C. where he worked as a political fundraiser for Senator

Tom Harkin Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously was the U.S. representative for Io ...

of Iowa. Penders and his wife, Brooke, reside in

Old Wethersfield Old Wethersfield, also known as Old Wethersfield Historic District, and historically known as Watertown or Pyquag, is a section of the town of Wethersfield, Connecticut, roughly bounded by the borders of the adjacent city of Hartford and town of R ...

. They have three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penders, Jim Living people UConn Huskies baseball players UConn Huskies baseball coaches People from Vernon, Connecticut People from Wethersfield, Connecticut Baseball coaches from Connecticut Year of birth missing (living people)

Playing years

Coaching career

Head coaching record

Personal life

See also

References