John McHenry was hired as the Director of Athletics at Cerro Coso Community College in July of 2017.  At the time of his entry, Coyote athletics consisted of 5 programs and McHenry was charged with building sustainability of each team. During this time, each Coyote team has measured signs of improvement bringing value to the college and building a reputation among opponents that Cerro Coso will have the ability to compete for post season play.

Although the baseball team has been the flagship program for Cerro Coso, celebrating their 25th season in the spring of 2018, all other teams are relatively young only being reinstated over the past 5 years. It is McHenry's goal to support these players and coaches to build programs immediately.  The vision for success of each program is to build around quality head coaches that posses leadership qualities that are essential to lead student athletes in areas of achievement, in competition, in academics, and in the community. "The gold standard of achievement for our programs is to advance student athletes to the four year level, but at a minimum, the Coyote athlete will move on with a quality education, opportunities to engage in community life, and lasting relationships, all through the vehicle of athletics."

John McHenry was introduced to Cerro Coso Community College when he first came as a student-athlete. In 1997 he was a baseball transfer from the University of Nevada, and played for the Coyotes during the spring of 1998 and 1999. During the 1999 season he was part of the first Cerro Coso team to win a conference championship (Foothill Conference), during a season which he was the conference MVP and All-American. This lead him to continue playing baseball for the University South Carolina, and another decorated year as he and the Gamecocks would carry the national #1 ranking into the post season, and become the SEC champions. Following his playing career, McHenry entered the field of education and would begin a coaching and teaching career in Northern Nevada. During this time, he and his wife Tammie raised their two children Sadye and John. 

"Returning to Cerro Coso in the capacity of Athletic Director has been a homecoming of sorts. The community of Ridgecrest has been supportive of Cerro Coso athletic, and I am optimistic about the development of our programs in our mission to bring first class athletic programs to this campus. Make Your Mark!"