John Shulman, Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Central Arkansas, announces the hiring of Drake Henderson. Coach Shulman, “Drake impressed me from the second I met him. He is a basketball lifer. He loves this thing and looks forward to hard work. His willingness to be in the trenches doing what it takes for the program aligns with who we are as a staff and a program. Drake has had a couple of stops in his career, but his original home being right here in Central Arkansas made this even better. He has pride in this community and this University. As everyone knows, we love this place and having people like Drake, who take pride in it, takes what we are doing to the next level.”
Prior to UCA, Henderson served as Associate Head Coach at McCook Community College in McCook, Nebraska, for two seasons. During the 2025-26 season, Henderson helped lead McCook to an 18 win season, the most wins in a season in over 9 years at McCook. Henderson also helped develop NJCAA All American Djibril Diawara during his time at McCook.
Before McCook, Henderson served as Associate Head Coach/Assistant Coach at National Park College in Hot Springs, Arkansas. During his two seasons at National Park, Henderson helped the Nighthawks amass a 50-10 record over his two years there, including a 19-3 record in NJCAA Region 2 Conference play. His tenure at National Park was highlighted by a 31-1 record in 2023-24, resulting in the 2024 NJCAA Division 2 National Championship. While at National Park, Henderson was also a member of back to back NJCAA Region 2 regular season championship teams. Henderson was instrumental in the development of many players at National Park, notably, two time NJCAA All American Nakavieon White and NJCAA All American Ja’Bryant Hill.
Henderson’s teams have been known for their offensive prowess. In 3 out of 4 seasons, his teams have finished in the Top 25 of all NJCAA programs in Points per game, and Offensive Efficiency, including two Top 10 finishes in Offensive Efficiency.
While at National Park, Henderson also served as Interim Head Coach of National Park College Women’s Basketball for 5 games during the 2022-23 season.
Henderson is a graduate from Central Baptist College in Conway, Arkansas, with a Bachelors of Science degree in General Studies.
Coach Henderson, “Really excited to be at the University of Central Arkansas. This is a place that I consider home. Coach Shulman and the staff have done an awesome job the past two years. I am excited to join them in the pursuit of bringing championships to Conway. Go Bears!”
https://ucasports.com/news/2026/6/16/mens-basketball-shulman-adds-henderson-to-staff.aspx
