Penders came to Storrs, Conn., as a player in 1991. He has been the head baseball coach since the 2004 season.
UConn baseball’s 4-3 victory over East Tennessee State on Sunday was the Huskies’ 27th victory of the season, but more impressively, the 800th in the head coaching career of Jim Penders.
Penders has been at the helm of the UConn program since he was hired in July 2003 in a rare coaching move for the Huskies, following Sumner Dole (1924-35), J.O. Christian (1936-61), Larry Panciera (1962-79) and Andy Baylock (1980-2003).
In his 23rd season, Penders now has a career record of 800-518 (.607). According to the UConn sports information department, the 800 wins rank Penders 27th among active Division I coaches.
All of his coaching wins have come at UConn.
Always a Husky
Penders is a Connecticut native who has been tied to UConn baseball for all but three years since he joined the Huskies as a player in 1991. He was the co-captain of the 1994 team that won the Big East championship and hit .354 with seven home runs and 46 RBIs that season.
In all, he was part of 99 wins as a player.
Penders earned his degree in political science in 1994. After graduation, he worked in Washington, D.C., for three years as a political fundraiser and returned to UConn in 1997 as a graduate assistant with the baseball team. In that time, he received his master’s degree in education at UConn and was promoted to a full-time assistant coach in 1999.
He has been in Storrs since.
The Huskies have the longest tenured coaching staff in Division I baseball. On May 16, 2019, Penders earned his 557th career win to pass his former coach, Baylock, for the most wins in UConn history.
Under Penders, the Huskies have made 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the Super Regional round three times -- 2011, 2022 and 2024.
According to UConn records, entering this season, 18 of Penders’ players had been named All-Americans. Ryan Daniels was the most recent player to earn the designation, that coming in 2025.
In addition, 79 players either had been drafted or signed to a pro contract, with nine of them playing Major League Baseball heading into the 2026 season.
Winning seasons
Under Penders, UConn has finished under .500 just three times and not since 2014.
The Huskies have posted 30 or more wins in 19 seasons, and at 27-22 with seven regular-season, plus any postseason, games remaining, have a great shot at reaching the milestone in this campaign.
The 2022 Huskies had the best record in program history, finishing 50-16.
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