Photo by: Brian Westerholt/Four Seam Images
Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame 2020 Inductee Profile: John Hendricks
2/3/2020 11:50:00 AM | Baseball, Les Johns
Former Demon Deacon pitcher and current pitching coach John Hendricks was inducted into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame over the weekend.
Retired Wake Forest athletic director Ron Wellman visited a Demon Deacon baseball fall practice and met with the team, sharing a message of sacrifice, team-first mentality and being a part of something bigger than themselves.
He then made it clear he was there to share the news of a former Deacon baseball great that had just earned induction into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
"Once he mentioned the stats, I knew who he was talking about," Wake Forest pitching coach John Hendricks said. "It was very surreal to have my athletic director, who I thought so much of and who did so much to make Wake Forest athletics what it is today, tell our kids about my induction."
Hendricks was one of five Demon Deacon greats celebrated in an induction ceremony Saturday when Wake Forest basketball hosted the Clemson Tigers at the LJVM Coliseum. He joined quarterback Freddie Summers, field hockey star and Olympian Michelle Kasold, and soccer All-Americans Michael Parkhurst and Marcus Tracy as the 2020 Class of the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
"I'm really honored," Hendricks said. "For me, it's more about being able to celebrate that time period, more than anything that I personally got to do. My stats haven't changed. But it's a chance some 20 years later to talk about those teams, talk about coach (George) Greer and about the guys I played with."
A career 34-game winner, tops in Wake Forest program history, Hendricks earned 1998 ACC Tournament MVP in a unanimous vote. The Deacs won the ACC Tournament in both 1998 and 1999.
"The 1999 championship was the first and only time in college where every time we got off the bus we expected to win," Hendricks said. "The other team expected us to win. We won games because the other team often expected us to beat them. Wins are a team thing, I just happened to have got through the most."
"I'm proud of the innings I worked here. A lot of them were throwing through pain, and throwing to help the team win instead of worrying about the draft or things like that. That was an accumulation of just gutting it out."
Hendricks developed a reputation for gutting it out - he led the ACC in both complete games and innings pitched in both those championship seasons. He posted a 13-4 win-loss record as a junior, then closed his career with a 10-6 campaign.
"Beyond any personal stats that I had here, it was really just the accumulation of what we did here," Hendricks said. "If I'd been three or four years older, we wouldn't have won those games. It just happened to have been the perfect time to come through the Wake Forest baseball program. There were some great teams."
Hendricks holds a Wake Forest record with 409.2 innings pitched and his 312 strikeouts were a record until Parker Dunshee edged that mark in 2017..
"Wake Forest baseball wasn't used to winning championships before that, and it had been a really long time since that was an expectation," he said. "I really think ever since then, it's been the expectation to be an ACC Championship-level team all the time."
You'll have to excuse Hendricks if he seemed a bit distracted during Saturday's induction ceremony. The current Wake Forest baseball team is nationally ranked, and Hendricks needs the Demon Deacon pitching staff to make a big jump to live up to those lofty aspirations.
"It's really cool to be here and be as concerned about the 2020 team as I was about the 1999 team," Hendricks said.
Though the current Deacs did learn a bit about Wake Forest history because of Hendricks' induction, it didn't prevent them from some good-natured ribbing along the way.
"They know my picture is on the wall, and that's about it," Hendricks said.
"I think I got made fun of by the guys a little bit more, but in a good way. I feel like I've developed a really good personal relationship with the pitching staff, and one that will transcend their years here. They know I care a lot about them as people. It was their chance to rib me a little bit for that."
He then made it clear he was there to share the news of a former Deacon baseball great that had just earned induction into the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
"Once he mentioned the stats, I knew who he was talking about," Wake Forest pitching coach John Hendricks said. "It was very surreal to have my athletic director, who I thought so much of and who did so much to make Wake Forest athletics what it is today, tell our kids about my induction."
Hendricks was one of five Demon Deacon greats celebrated in an induction ceremony Saturday when Wake Forest basketball hosted the Clemson Tigers at the LJVM Coliseum. He joined quarterback Freddie Summers, field hockey star and Olympian Michelle Kasold, and soccer All-Americans Michael Parkhurst and Marcus Tracy as the 2020 Class of the Wake Forest Sports Hall of Fame.
"I'm really honored," Hendricks said. "For me, it's more about being able to celebrate that time period, more than anything that I personally got to do. My stats haven't changed. But it's a chance some 20 years later to talk about those teams, talk about coach (George) Greer and about the guys I played with."
A career 34-game winner, tops in Wake Forest program history, Hendricks earned 1998 ACC Tournament MVP in a unanimous vote. The Deacs won the ACC Tournament in both 1998 and 1999.
"The 1999 championship was the first and only time in college where every time we got off the bus we expected to win," Hendricks said. "The other team expected us to win. We won games because the other team often expected us to beat them. Wins are a team thing, I just happened to have got through the most."
"I'm proud of the innings I worked here. A lot of them were throwing through pain, and throwing to help the team win instead of worrying about the draft or things like that. That was an accumulation of just gutting it out."
Hendricks developed a reputation for gutting it out - he led the ACC in both complete games and innings pitched in both those championship seasons. He posted a 13-4 win-loss record as a junior, then closed his career with a 10-6 campaign.
"Beyond any personal stats that I had here, it was really just the accumulation of what we did here," Hendricks said. "If I'd been three or four years older, we wouldn't have won those games. It just happened to have been the perfect time to come through the Wake Forest baseball program. There were some great teams."
Hendricks holds a Wake Forest record with 409.2 innings pitched and his 312 strikeouts were a record until Parker Dunshee edged that mark in 2017..
"Wake Forest baseball wasn't used to winning championships before that, and it had been a really long time since that was an expectation," he said. "I really think ever since then, it's been the expectation to be an ACC Championship-level team all the time."
You'll have to excuse Hendricks if he seemed a bit distracted during Saturday's induction ceremony. The current Wake Forest baseball team is nationally ranked, and Hendricks needs the Demon Deacon pitching staff to make a big jump to live up to those lofty aspirations.
"It's really cool to be here and be as concerned about the 2020 team as I was about the 1999 team," Hendricks said.
Though the current Deacs did learn a bit about Wake Forest history because of Hendricks' induction, it didn't prevent them from some good-natured ribbing along the way.
"They know my picture is on the wall, and that's about it," Hendricks said.
"I think I got made fun of by the guys a little bit more, but in a good way. I feel like I've developed a really good personal relationship with the pitching staff, and one that will transcend their years here. They know I care a lot about them as people. It was their chance to rib me a little bit for that."
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