Dan Hennigan, part of the Houston Astros’ three-man hitting staff, is leaving the organization for a job at Wake Forest University, manager Joe Espada confirmed Sunday.
Hennigan, the Astros’ director of hitting and offensive coordinator, worked his final game with the team on Sunday, Espada said.
This was Hennigan’s first season with that title. He served as the Astros’ hitting coordinator in 2025 and received his new title after Houston overhauled its hitting staff last offseason, hiring hitting coach Victor Rodriguez and assistant Anthony Iapoce.
With Rodriguez and Iapoce working hands-on with hitters, Hennigan drove efforts in game planning and preparing hitters with data and analytics. Initially expected to not be in uniform for games, Hennigan did become a presence in the dugout as a sounding board for hitters in-game and accompanied the team on road trips.
Chuckie Caufield, a special advisor and roving hitting coordinator who joined the Astros organization in 2024, will assume some of Hennigan’s responsibilities with the major-league staff, Espada said.
Wake Forest is hiring Hennigan in an assistant coaching role. His departure comes a little over a year after Wake Forest hired Eric Niesen, the Astros’ former director of pitching, as its pitching coach.