Washburn University Athletics

Ron McHenry concluded his 22nd season as the Washburn women's basketball head coach in 2021-22 and joined the Washburn men's golf team in the fall of 2022 to serve as a volunteer assistant coach for his son, Ronnie.

McHenry, a national champion in 2004-05, is the program's winningest coach with a record of 490-180 (.731) in his 22 years at Washburn after becoming the head coach in the 2000-01 season. He’s 294-128 (.697) in his career in MIAA games and 249-67 (.788) coaching in Lee Arena. 

McHenry has won eight MIAA titles and seven MIAA tournament titles at Washburn. He’s a four-time MIAA Coach of the Year and a two-time region coach of the year.

McHenry has coached nine different players to 21 All-America awards. He’s coached one NCAA South Central Region player of the year, six MIAA most valuable players, five MIAA defensive players of the year, 41 all-conference selections, nine MIAA Scholar Athletes and 84 MIAA Academic Honor Roll members.

The longtime head coach is among the top coaches in the NCAA as he concluded the 2021-22 campaign ranked 16th all-time in career winning percentage as well as 18th in career wins among active DII coaches. During the 2016-17 season, McHenry reached a personal milestone as he earned his 400th career victory at Northeastern State (Okla.) on Jan. 12 with a 67-48 victory. As result, he became the fastest coach in NCAA Division II women's basketball history to reach the milestone, doing so in just 512 games, while becoming just the 23rd individual to accomplish the feat.

On Dec. 18, 2018 against Embry-Riddle, McHenry captured his 432nd victory to pass Patty Dick as the winningest head coach of the Washburn women's basketball program.

He was named Molten/Division II Bulletin national coach of the year in 2004-05 after guiding Washburn to its first NCAA Division II national title in any sport. He led Washburn to a third straight MIAA regular season title, an MIAA tournament title and a South Central Region title with a 35-2 record. The school won its final 19 games to lead to the national title.

Washburn turned that winning streak into an NCAA record the following year. The Lady Blues finished the 2005-06 regular season with a perfect 27-0 record and swept through the MIAA postseason tournament and first two rounds of the NCAA South Central Region tournament. They then fell in overtime in the regional final to end the winning streak at 51 games and end the year with a 32-1 record.

McHenry was named the MIAA coach of the year that season after leading the team to a perfect 16-0 conference season. He coached consensus national player of the year Jennifer Harris as she won the award from three different organizations. She was also the region and MIAA player of the year and she went on to be drafted No. 20 by the Chicago Sky in the 2006 WNBA Draft.

He guided Washburn to a 23-6 record in 2012-13 and a second straight MIAA regular season title with a 16-2 mark in the conference. McHenry was named MIAA coach of the year for his efforts. His team earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA region tournament for the second straight year as he made his 12th straight trip to the event.

In his 12 appearances in the NCAA tournament, McHenry has three Elite Eight appearances with trips in 2002-03, 2004-05 and 2007-08. He has a 20-11 record overall in the NCAA tournament.

McHenry guided the Lady Blues to a regular season MIAA title in 2002-03, just his third season as a head coach. He also won an MIAA postseason tournament championship and a berth to the Division II Elite Eight. McHenry was named District VI coach of the year that season.

In his second season, McHenry engineered one of the best turnarounds in Division II, guiding Washburn to the NCAA South Central Region tournament and finishing with a 23-7 record. The year after that he guided the Lady Blues to back-to-back 20 win seasons after finishing with a 13-14 record in 2000-01, his first season as a head coach.

McHenry was named the women's basketball head coach on May 8, 2000. He became only the fifth coach in program-history at Washburn and the first since Patty Dick joined the team in the 1977-78 season.

Prior to his appointment, McHenry spent the previous 11 seasons as a member of the men’s basketball coaching staff under legendary coach Bob Chipman. He was a part of 243 wins while also guiding the men’s golf team for eight seasons as head coach.

McHenry has had a diverse coaching career. He began as a graduate assistant to Chipman during the 1984-85 season. He then went on to Perry High School in 1986 where he served as assistant boy’s coach. McHenry quickly moved up the coaching ranks in 1988 when he assumed an assistant’s position with the Topeka Sizzlers of the Continental Basketball Association. 

McHenry eventually became the Sizzlers’ interim head coach before joining the Washburn staff for the 1989-90 campaign. McHenry was the department’s academic advisor during his first year on the Washburn staff.

McHenry played for Washburn after stints at Coffeyville CC and the University of Kansas. He started for the Ichabods during the 1983-84 season.

He graduated from Washburn with a bachelor’s degree in communications and went on to earn a master’s degree in sports administration from Wichita State in 1987.

McHenry and his wife, Mischa, have three children, Dani, Sami and Ronnie. Ronnie was a member of the Washburn golf team (2012-16) and was named the Ichabods' head coach during the summer of 2021. McHenry's daughters Dani and Sami both played basketball and volleyball at Washburn. Dani is a Class of 2016 member of the Washburn Athletic Hall of Fame. 

McHenry Year-by-Year Breakdown