FORT MYERS, Fla. – Florida Gulf Coast softball head coach Lindsay Fico announced Monday the hiring of pitching coach Jody Hennigar.

"We're really excited to have Jody Hennigar join our staff," Fico said. "He brings a strong understanding of the game and a genuine passion for helping our players grow. Jody fits our culture extremely well, and I know our team is going to benefit from his experience and the way he connects with our athletes every day."

"I would like to thank Coach Fico and the softball staff for such a welcoming experience," Hennigar said. "I would also like to thank Colin Hargis for an outstanding opportunity. I can't wait to get to work. Go Eagles!"

Hennigar has been a college pitching coach since 2017, including stops at Jacksonville, Buffalo and Cornell. At JU, his pitchers posted a combined 2.80 earned-run average with 176 strikeouts. His top pitcher, Alyssa Bilodeau, went 16-13 with a 2.32 ERA and 115 strikeouts over 190 innings that season. 

The decorated Hennigar has been inducted into the Canadian Softball Hall of Fame (2010), the Nova Scotia Softball Hall of Fame (2010), the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame (2010), the International Softball Congress Hall of Fame (2010) and the Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame (2011).

Hennigar's first coaching job came as an assistant for New Zealand's U18 Boys National Team in 1985. He later spent six seasons as an assistant coach of Florida Ultimate Gold and five as the head coach of the U14 Tampa Mustangs. 

As a player, Hennigar won several medals and honors as a member of the Canadian National men's fastpitch team from 1989 to 2002. He earned All-Canadian team honors six times and the Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Pitcher awards twice each. 
Hennigar was a standout two-way player during his fast pitch career, beating a team at the plate or on the mound. Hennigar was at his best in national championship play or world championship play, earning ASA All-America laurels seven times between 1985-2005. He twice led the ASA Men's Major Fast Pitch Tourney in batting, won a home run title and the Dudley Award as the tourney's outstanding pitcher. 

Hennigar compiled a 19-9 pitching record in seven ASA nationals. He batted .351 (54-for-154), drove in 46 runs and smashed 14 home runs, which is second best in ASA history trailing  Jeff Seip. Hennigar had one of his best seasons in 1992 when he batted .382, hitting 21 homers and driving in 75 runs to lead the Bombers. 

On the mound that year, he fashioned a 35-5 record with an ERA of 0.82. In 1992 and 1994, he led the Men's Major Fast Pitch National Tourney in batting and in 1994 he also led in home runs with five. In 2002, Hennigar was 6-0 on the mound and won the Dudley Award as the tourney's Outstanding Pitcher. Hennigar retired following the 2005 season. He didn't play in the ASA National Championship that year, but batted .333 for the season with three homers and 12 RBI. In the ISC, Hennigar compiled a 21-12 pitching record and batted .280. 

Although he was never on an ASA National Championship team, he played on teams that were consistent top ten finishers, finishing in the top five in every appearance. The teams he played for included Cedar Rapids Vigortone, Cedar Rapids Teleconect, The Farm Tavern, Madison, Wisc., the Clearwater, Fla. Bombers, Circle Tap of Denmark, Wisc., and the Fedlock Falcons who he played with for three years. Hennigar is the 78th male fast pitch player inducted into the Hall of Fame. 

2026 softball season tickets, mini plans and single game tickets are on sale now at https://fgcuathletics.evenue.net/list/SB. 

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