A Sea Of Red

Baseball standout selects Liberty
Published 7:47pm Wednesday, November 9, 2011



Josh Henderson has thought about being a student at Liberty University for a long time. The goal of playing baseball for the Flames came a little later.

On Wednesday, Henderson signed a scholarship offer committing to Liberty’s baseball program starting in the 2012-13 school year.

“I just felt like it was the right place. I’m very comfortable with the coaches. I’ve been very comfortable with the school for awhile,” Henderson said.


Henderson

Josh’s loyalty to Liberty goes back to when he was 12 and visiting his older brother while he was at LU.

“On the campus, I remember saying to myself, ‘This would be a great school to go to. This is such a great campus,’” Henderson said.

If you are wondering how big of a signing it is to snag this homeschooler ...

As Henderson’s played all over the country, scouts and coaches from far and wide learned plenty about him. Henderson’s earned elite praise for every aspect of his game, from his knowledge of the game, speed and defense to his contact and power at the plate.

Liberty was Henderson’s choice over a final cut including North Carolina and Louisiana State.

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This kid is the real deal. Should help us get over the Coastal hump and into the dance. New stadium. Stud recruits. Should be fun!!

These are the type of recruits that the Liberty winning tradition will hopefully start to bring. It takes time but I see this really being the hinge for the next level of recruits for LU.

I am excited for baseball season!

Go Flames!!

Is Josh on campus/roster? I know there was talk of him not arriving on campus.

krh44 wrote:Is Josh on campus/roster? I know there was talk of him not arriving on campus.

Josh is a high school senior that will be on campus in the fall (assuming he does not go high in the draft and bypass college).

Since he is a homeschooler, I know there is likely some flexibility. But with him likely to go in the 1st or 2nd round of the draft, it would be wise for him to see his options. Of course, I'd rather he spend three seasons on the mountain to develop as a man and prepare for his life after baseball while improving his game. But that's just me.

Josh, who is playing for First Baptist Christian (Suffolk, Va.) for his final prep season, is undecided about what he'll major in at Liberty.

Of course, there's a good chance he won't have to make that decision any time soon. If he's selected in the first 10 rounds of the MLB draft and the money is right, he said there's a "good chance" he'll sign directly out of high school.

The draft is scheduled for June 4-6.

"I've dreamed about playing Major League Baseball since I was a kid," Josh said. "I played basketball when I was about 7 or 8, but ever since then I've loved baseball. I'm excited about (the draft)."

http://www.maxpreps.com/news/-lMi2r6bu0 ... ospect.htm


this guy is not going to step a foot on campus

looks like this game drew his attention

I talked to a Canes coach last week and he feels it's 95% sure Josh comes to Liberty next year no matter what happens in the draft. His parents really value an education and the kid has a strong faith. He also says what a great young man Josh is. The future is bright at Liberty.

In thinking about this - kids with the talent like Josh, that have every chance in the world to play at the next level will typically jump at the chance to do so and not think twice about it. This is typical in college sports today - just see UK's basketball team. I wonder though if the fact that Liberty University draws student's here not solely because of the athletics, but because of the spiritual aspect, might play a role in there being a different culture here in regards to this topic. I wonder if it causes kids to think twice about going straight into the pro's as soon as they are given the chance.

Flamepop wrote:I talked to a Canes coach last week and he feels it's 95% sure Josh comes to Liberty next year no matter what happens in the draft. His parents really value an education and the kid has a strong faith. He also says what a great young man Josh is. The future is bright at Liberty.

I would love to see this figure at 99% but I guess we will have to wait. On his FB he does have LU class of 2016.

What happened to this kid?

Signed w/ Dodgers.

Did he enroll in LU this past fall? I thought I had read that it was provision of his contract.

krh44 wrote:Signed w/ Dodgers.

Too bad, thought he would have been good enough to sign with a MLB team.

I've been a Dodgers fan my whole life. So it is bitter sweet, as I'd still prefer much more that he play for Liberty.

libertyfan4life wrote:I've been a Dodgers fan my whole life.

My condolences.

Id of liked to see him wearing our jersey this year too, but if this past weekend is any indication, I think we are doing pretty well without him.

Josh has been out of baseball for almost a year after being let go by the Dodgers. He has spent all summer trying to get back into baseball and finally just this week got picked up by a Frontier League (Independent) team for the balance of the season. He could have gotten an education, gotten at least 3 years bigger and stronger if he had attended Liberty. It's really tough for these kids out of High School to jump into the pros. Josh is an outstanding young man with a strong faith. I hope he gets another chance.

What did he sign for and what round. Sounds like they let him go really early.

huntandfish wrote:What did he sign for and what round. Sounds like they let him go really early.

He was a 16th rounder and signed for $200,000 which was $100,000 over slot.

http://articles.dailypress.com/2012-07- ... es-dodgers

Flamepop wrote:Josh has been out of baseball for almost a year after being let go by the Dodgers. He has spent all summer trying to get back into baseball and finally just this week got picked up by a Frontier League (Independent) team for the balance of the season. He could have gotten an education, gotten at least 3 years bigger and stronger if he had attended Liberty. It's really tough for these kids out of High School to jump into the pros. Josh is an outstanding young man with a strong faith. I hope he gets another chance.

Flamepop, it's really sad to see that happen. MLB dangles "college tuition money" in front of the HS kids and their parents to get the kid to sign. No biggie for them, they know that very few will every get to use it.

Well he has his college paid for and got 200K. He can still come to LU on MLB's dime an no money out of parents pocket. Still hard for a kid i understand but ..........

huntandfish wrote:Well he has his college paid for and got 200K. He can still come to LU on MLB's dime an no money out of parents pocket. Still hard for a kid i understand but ..........

I hope he does. He's only been out of school two years and is still single. So he doesn't have the tipical obstacles holding him back. He's obviously athletic. He wanted to play football in high school but was banned because he was home schooled. Perhaps he could walk-on and try his hand at another sport.

If he continues to play Indy ball he can pretty much go to school, on campus, the entire year. They report in May and finish Sept. It would take some work and some online classes but LU is the online king. He could workout and enjoy the college life. Heck maybe Storm would allow him to workout with the ball club. Really sounds like a good kid I hope he put that cash in the bank and don't touch it til he has his degree.