Mark Rutledge enters his fourth season with the men’s basketball program at Henderson State in 2021-22 and his second as the associate head coach.
Rutledge joined the staff at Henderson in 2018-19 after serving one season as the graduate assistant at Great American Conference rival Southern Arkansas in 2017-18.
Rutledge was instrumental for Henderson during the Reddies' GAC Tournament Championship season in 2019-20 and assisted head coach Jimmy Elgas in directing the team to a record of 23-8 and the program's first conference title since 2002-03.
During his first year with the Reddies in 2018-19, Rutledge was a part of a staff that helped guide Henderson to its best season in over a decade with a 19-11 record and the program's first GAC Tournament win since 2013.
A native of Tulsa, Okla., before his time at SAU, Rutledge was a student assistant at the University of Central Arkansas while he completed his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Health Education. Rutledge played his final two seasons on the hardwood for the Bears, and started 56 of 57 games from 2010 to 2012. Over his two-year career, he averaged 8.7 points per game and was a 43 percent shooter overall from the floor.
After finishing at UCA, Rutledge had a brief professional career with the Battle Creek Knights of the Independent Basketball Association, and an overseas stint with the Shoqata Tirana of the Albania Superliga.
Before arriving at UCA, Rutledge played junior college basketball at the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith and at Connors State College. At Connors, Rutledge averaged 13.1 points per game and was named Second-Team All-Region. Additionally, he helped lead the Cowboys to a Region 2 Championship and an appearance in the NJCAA National Tournament.
In his prep days, Rutledge was a standout player at Thomas Edison Preparatory School where he was named Tulsa World All-Metro three times and was named to the state all-tournament team as a senior. Rutledge was also selected to the Elite Eight by KTUL Channel 8.
Rutledge is the son of Mark and Fay Rutledge and the brother of Nia and Rodney Rutledge. He and his wife Monica have a son, Elijah.
