Assistant coach Mario Hernandez enters his first season with WKU in 2022 and comes to The Hill after a year with the Golden Eagles of Tennessee Tech. While managing the offense, Tech posted a 30+ wins season for the first time since 2015. The Golden Eagles lead the OVC in slugging percentage and home runs, while increasing offensive statistics in 13 categories. In Cookeville, the squad was ranked nationally in the top-25 in runs scored per game at one point in 2022.
In 2018 and 2019, he was the assistant coach for the Plainfield North High School team, working with the Tigers’ infielders and outfielders on defense and assisting on offensive efforts.
He made the jump to the collegiate level in 2019 as he worked as a volunteer assistant at Jacksonville University in the Atlantic Sun Conference. While the 2020 spring campaign was cut short from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Dolphins did make a significant improvement. JU made a 130-spot increase on the NCAA’s Ratings Percentage Index, while collecting 15 wins before the season was cut short. In that span, the Dolphins saw 81 RBI, 66 walks and 32 stolen bases to their credit.
Hernandez then served as a head coach in the Florida Gulf Coast Summer Collegiate League, overseeing a program that had seven Power 5 players and seven mid-major players. His team reached the league championship, then was one of three coaches selected to coach against the USSSA Pride professional team.
In 2021, Hernandez was an assistant/interim head coach at Valparaiso. While there, the team dropped its strikeout totals to its lowest levels in 10 years, putting together an offensive strategy that helped the batters at the plate.
During his playing days at Moraine Valley (Ill.) Community College and St. Francis, he served as the head coach for the South Side Rage baseball team, then became the 18U head coach and president of softball for the Illinois Hawks Organization for five years. A Chicago Heights, Ill. native, Hernandez earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Walden University in 2021.
