LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the second time, UK athletic director Mitch Barnhart has turned to a John Cohen assistant to be his new head baseball coach.

Mississippi State assistant coach Nick Mingione, who worked for Cohen in Starkville and at UK from 2006-07, has been hired to replace Gary Henderson as UK’s baseball coach, Barnhart announced Monday. Henderson, who was promoted to UK’s head coaching position after Cohen left Lexington for Mississippi State in 2008, resigned on June 1 after the conclusion of UK’s 2016 season.

“Nick Mingione is exactly the kind of coach we hoped to hire when we began our search,” Barnhart said in a news release. “His passion, tactical mind and tireless recruiting efforts made him an important part of Mississippi State’s staff during some great years for the program. More than that, he is a man of substance who is committed not only to developing young men as baseball players, but as students and people. We are excited to welcome Nick, his wife, Christen, and son, Reeves, to the UK athletics family.”

Mingione has served as Cohen’s recruiting coordinator at Mississippi State since 2009. He spent one season as the recruiting coordinator at Western Carolina in 2008 between stops on Cohen’s UK and Mississippi State staffs. Mingione was hired as an assistant coach at UK before the 2006 season after stops as an assistant at Mariner High School in Florida (2001), Florida Gulf Coast (2002) and Embry-Riddle (2003-05).

At Mississippi State, Mingione worked with the Bulldogs’ outfielders, first basemen and hitters. He also served as the third-base coach. As recruiting coordinator, he oversaw nine nationally ranked classes, including three-straight top-10 classes from 2013-2015.

“This is an opportunity I’ve dreamed about for more than a decade,” Mingione said in the release. “From the moment I first stepped foot on campus I knew it would be a place I could call home. What an incredible feeling to be back. Kentucky is a special place and this baseball program has had great moments over the years, including some that I have been a part of. I can’t wait to get to work on building toward an even brighter future.

“I want to thank President (Eli) Capilouto and Mitch for entrusting the program to me, John (Cohen) for the mentorship that has prepared me for this moment and the unending support of my family, especially my wife, Christen.”

Mingione served as UK’s hitting coach during the 2006 Southeastern Conference championship season. He played college baseball at Embry-Riddle, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in aerospace studies.

“Nick Mingione has been preparing for this opportunity for the last 13 years, and I absolutely know that he will make the most of it,” Cohen said in the release. “He is one of the nation’s elite recruiters. He is a brilliant tactician of the game. His ability to prepare kids for success in the SEC is of the highest level.

“He will make himself an irreplaceable part of the Kentucky baseball community and his wife is one of the finest people I’ve ever met. You try and surround yourself with people who make you a better coach and a better person. Nick Mingione has been that kind of person for me and like a member of my family.”

Email Jon Hale at jahale@courier-journal.com. Follow him on Twitter @JonHale_CJ.