WHATABURGER / ETBLITZ PERSONALITY PROFILE | Ronnie Hendrix and A.J. Hendrix, new baseball coaches at West Rusk, Leverett’s Chapel

EDITOR’S NOTE: For about 20 weeks, ETBlitz.com presented the Whataburger / ETBlitz.com Players of the Week to male and female athletes in our coverage area. But competition stopped when high school and Kilgore College took their annual summer break. We thought the public might enjoy a glimpse at some of the personalities in our area high schools and at KC, hence our new feature, the Whataburger / ETBlitz Personality Profile. Our second in the series: West Rusk head baseball coach and co-offensive line coach Ronnie Hendrix, and his son, new Leverett’s Chapel head baseball coach and assistant football coach A.J. Hendrix. And remember when it’s time for lunch (or breakfast, or dinner!), it’s time for Whataburger! And try their Buffalo Ranch Chicken Strip Sandwich, back for a limited time!

When Ronnie Hendrix coached his son, A.J., in baseball all the way up – from T-ball and youth leagues through high school – and watched him grow into the young man he is today, he did likely imagine he’d one day become a baseball coach.

He might not have imagined they’d both accept coaching jobs about five minutes apart.

Ronnie is the new head baseball coach at West Rusk High School, the Class 3A program in New London that battled with Tatum in the UIL 3A playoffs this past season and has talent returning from that team – and by “new,” we mean that in the sense of being new to West Rusk. Hendrix is an experienced leader that the Raiders and their fans will welcome to likely take their program to the next step.

A.J.? He’s taking a FIRST step – the first step in a young career.

A.J. Hendrix is the new head baseball coach at Leverett’s Chapel, where he’ll also serve as the assistant coach of the school’s six-man football team. LC will have a few changes this year: Keith Hughes steps in as the full-time head football coach and athletic director, and Matt Everett, who took over for a couple of seasons as coach, will step back out and back solely into his role as the school district’s superintendent.

Hendrix, then, will get to be – at the ripe “old” age of 24, 25 – the school’s head baseball coach – just up the road from his dad, only about six miles, IF that.

A.J. began his school career at Kilgore, then moved to Tatum, where he played high school sports and graduated. He got an offer to play baseball for Wiley College, now Wiley University.

“I was there for a year and a half, and COVID hit,” he explained.

He transferred to Stephen F. Austin University and eventually began substitute-teaching some at Carlisle before a tremendous opportunity became available, an opportunity that would open a door to something A.J. discovered he’d always wanted to do: coach.

“I knew this was what I wanted to do,” A.J. said. “(Rocky) called me, who was still the AD at the time, told me that he’d love to have me – not just because of (my dad) and who he is, but that if I worked half as hard as he did, I’d be OK.”

A.J. described his career path, and how he learned early-on under Clay Baker more about football than he thought he’d know. Clay is now the head coach at Henderson High School.

“I got the job coaching football, and just being there, learning from the Bakers, was absolutely amazing,” he said. “They are passionate. Clay is very smart, very particular, about the things he teaches – very detailed. So, learning from him was one of the biggest blessings I could have, coaching like that.

“I did junior high football, the seventh grade group. And that was a blessing, because we had a really good group. Now, they’re going to be sophomores, and they’ll be the next good group coming up for Carlisle.”

A.J. went on over a few school years to coach all sorts of sports at Carlisle, from softball to girls basketball to finally his love, baseball, where he got to coach a year with his dad.

“It’s funny because a lot of people say I do a lot of things just like him but I don’t want to give him credit,” A.J. said, with a laugh. “A lot of the stuff I do is just like him – I know I’ve got a lot of learning to do. It was definitely a good time. When he left, after our last game and he told the boys he was leaving, it was pretty emotional because I didn’t know when the next time would be that I’d get to coach with him.”

Year three came around at Carlisle and A.J. would be coaching as a football assistant, basketball assistant and as a baseball assistant. But Ronnie had moved on, and taken a job at Henderson – more on that in a moment. A.J. would be coaching with first-year Carlisle head coach Bret Ralson.

“Definitely there were things that (Ralson) did the same,” A.J. explained, “but there was also a different angle that he attacked from, and I consider him one of my mentors now because of how baseball-minded he is, and how smart he is. So it was taking two coaching styles and adding it to the bag. It was an awesome experience in that even though I didn’t have (Ronnie) there, I was able to learn to do something myself and not go to him for every little thing. …It was a learning experience, definitely a fun year, for sure.”

So after that 2024 season, this past season, A.J. was contacted by Leverett’s Chapel leadership, who wondered if he’d be interested in taking over their baseball program.

“I was ready to look at some options,” A.J. said. “The only thing different will be six-man football.”

A.J. said he’s been learning a lot even in a short time from new coach Keith Hughes about the six-man game.

“That part has been fun,” he laughed. “The learning, and all that, jumping right into it – it’s been fun.”

From the baseball perspective, A.J. did lose some talent, like first-team All-District player Eduardo Espinosa, but the Lions will return Carson Ford and Ethan Kirk for their senior seasons. Ford was also first-team All-District 17-2A this past season, and Kirk was second-team All-District.

LC is two seasons removed from a long playoff run that saw them reach the third round, before losing to Kennard.

Now… what about dad?

It’s simple. An upward-minded, up-and-coming program at West Rusk, who has an athletic director that’s always thinking, needed an experienced baseball man to be their head coach. And Hendrix, who fit that criteria perfectly, saw the opportunity, and also the chance to reunite with old friend Rafe Mata, whom he coached with when the two were together at Kilgore years ago.

“I was getting to that point… where I wanted to be a head coach,” Ronnie explained, of why he left Kilgore High School, and his role of junior high basketball coach and junior varsity baseball coach. “(Carlisle head football coach and athletic director) Rocky Baker called. That was the coolest thing – I actually got the call from him, after we beat them in their own tournament, down in Carlisle. That’s what put me on his radar, when he noticed me.

“I went out there, and it was a great deal for seven years. Then, when Clay (Baker’s son) took the head football job in Henderson, he wanted me to come and be a part. I followed him there as assistant baseball coach and offensive line. It was kind of a change of regimes going on at Carlisle at the time.”

Then, during recent weeks, West Rusk baseball coach Tyler Wilbanks’ father, David Wilbanks, took the positions of athletic director and head football coach at Queen City, and Tyler elected to leave West Rusk and join his dad at QC.

That left an opening at West Rusk, so…

“Tyler went with him, going with your dad, I get that,” Ronnie said. “(West Rusk) came open, it’s a great job. I like Rafe. I like the system. I know, pretty much, their kids. I went down there, and it was just like… it was meant to be.”

So Ronnie will lead the Raiders’ baseball program, and coach offensive line in football, like in Henderson, and teach Algebra I.

He’ll have three fantastic players coming back when baseball rolls around: Kullen Tavarez, who recently made a verbal commitment to Middle Georgia State University; Cole Jackson; and Jase Reasoner.

“Those three are big coming back,” Hendrix said, “and I’ve got a really talented freshmen class coming back. I don’t know how many sophomores and juniors I have to mix in with those, but I know for sure that two to four freshmen could be starting. So we’ll be young, but we’ve got good leadership at the top. We’ll have to fill that gap in between. When it becomes a grind, that’s the tough part: tournament season.”

Hendrix talked about his early impressions of West Rusk parental support – “fantastic,” and “awesome” were the words he used – and from the administration. “It’s been a good fit. It’s been pretty awesome.”

In the immediate, Hendrix will be prepared to help the Raiders’ football program get after it, and try to capture yet another district championship with coach Mata leading the way.

Hendrix and John Eastman will coach the O-line.

“I sit back and listen to (Eastman) talk and I’m like, ‘I’m learning from you right now,’” Hendrix said, of Eastman.

For anyone who thought the Raiders might take a step back with recent graduations, think again, Hendrix said.

“It’s not going anywhere,” he said. “Our line is pretty young and we’ve got some big ones coming. The skill positions are getting better and better every year. And our baseball guys we mentioned? They’re football guys, too. They do it all.”

Needless to say, Father’s Day was a pretty special one in 2024 around the Hendrix house.

You think baseball and football might have been topics of conversation?