Bio

Scott Hennessey, who helped the Cowley College baseball team to back-to-back Junior College World Series titles in 1997 and 1998, has continued to have great success as the manager of the Tulsa Drillers and recently spent the 2020 baseball season as a special assistant with the World Series winning Los Angeles Dodgers. Hennessey will return to Cowley College on Saturday, February 6 to be inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame.

Prior to the 1995 season, then Cowley College head baseball coach Dave Burroughs approached athletic director Tom Saia about adding Hennessey to the coaching staff.

“I told Tom that me and Lefty (Darren Burroughs) needed another assistant to help get us over the top,” Burroughs said. “Me, Lefty, and Henny all had the same goal of winning a title and meshed together perfectly. People said we couldn’t win a JUCO World Series title in the state of Kansas, so we were all driven to prove them wrong.”

The Tigers were 199-44 during Hennessey’s four years as an assistant coach. During that time Cowley won four Jayhawk Conference Titles, four Sub-Region Titles, three Region 6 Titles, two Central Districts Titles, and two JUCO World Series titles.

“The run that Dave, Lefty, and myself had was incredible and I feel that during our time together we had the best program in the country,” Hennessey said.

From 1998-2006, Hennessey was a coach for two different high schools in Jacksonville, FL.

Hennessey later scouted for the Los Angeles Dodgers, signing several players that would go on to join the big league club. When Ryan Garko resigned as manager of the Double A Tulsa Drillers in late July 2017, Hennessey took over. He took a team that was 50-50 and led them to a 27-13 record. He was scheduled to be manager of Tulsa in 2020 before the season was cancelled due to Covid-19.

Hennessey has served as the manager of the Tulsa Drillers, the Los Angeles Dodgers Double-A affiliate, for the past four seasons. Hennessey has led the team to appearances in the past three Texas League Championship Series and has compiled a 179-139 regular season record.

“He has won everywhere he has been,” said Dave Burroughs. “The players feed off his energy.”
Hennessey has also won when it has mattered most, leading the team to a 16-12 record in the postseason. The 16 playoff wins are the most ever for a Tulsa manager.

“In Tulsa it was a match made in heaven. From Dale and Jeff Hubbard to Mike Malega and Brian Carroll and the entire staff everyone works hard every day and they want to win,” Hennessey said. “They go out of their way to give us what we need to succeed on the field.  They saw how hard I worked and I saw how hard they worked. They want to win as badly as I do and that's the environment I want to be in.”

With the minor league season cancelled due to COVID-19, Hennessey was asked to join the Los Angeles Dodgers throughout the Major League Baseball postseason. With Hennessey watching on, the Dodgers captured their first World Series title in 32 years.

“The thing that I like most about the Dodgers is from the top down they care about the players so much and will give them everything they need to get better and reach their full potential as a player,” Hennessey said. “From the medical team to strength training to the strong mind part of it it's an incredible place to be.”

Hennessey has guided a number of top prospects during his previous three seasons. Last year, the Dodgers' number one and number two prospects, Gavin Lux and Dustin May, started their seasons in Tulsa before ending the year in Los Angeles with the Dodgers. 

“We develop players, high picks, low picks, it doesn't matter all the coaches work extremely hard every day to get you better,” Hennessey said. “Doesn't matter if you’re a first rounder or a free agent signing, we have incredible coaches and people in the Dodgers organization. It's a well-oiled machine I can tell you that. No stone is left unturned and we are not afraid to think outside the box. If you want to get better and work your butt off this is the place to be. This is my 14th year with them and still learning something every day. An incredible culture and environment to work in.”

What sticks out in Hennessey’s mind about coaching with former Tiger head coach Dave Burroughs and current Cowley head coach Darren Burroughs (Lefty) is the energy and work ethic they brought to practice every day.  

“They instilled in the players to get a little better every day and they taught young players to work hard each and every day,” Hennessey said. “Games were simple because of what we put guys through in practice in the weight room and the swimming pool. You could not be mentally weak and play at Cowley.”  

Dave Burroughs gave Hennessey the opportunity to coach at Cowley and it was one he will never forget.

“I was a sponge with no ego wanting to learn,” Hennessey said. “It also helped that Dave was previously a scout with the (Philadelphia) Phillies. I scouted for 12 years with the Dodgers and it helped me tremendously. Coach Dave let his coaches coach and everyone on our staff had a lot of strengths and it showed winning two national titles. Cowley was an awesome place to be and one I will always cherish.”

With Dave and Darren Burroughs already in the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame, Dave is eager to welcome his friend and former assistant into the elite club.

“We all had our strengths separately, but put us all together as a group and it was legendary,” Burroughs said. “With Henny going into the Hall of Fame its kind of like we are putting the band back together.”

Hennessey looks back fondly on his time at Cowley and is looking forward to seeing his former coaches and players at the Hall of Fame induction.

“I will always love Cowley College and enjoyed my time in the community,” Hennessey said. “The Hall of Fame is not an easy thing to get into.”