Will he or won’t he?

That’s the question that lingered the last two winters as the days grew longer and Jabari Henry’s status with the Sioux Falls Canaries was up in the air. But no longer.

Just over two months before Opening Day, on Friday afternoon the Canaries announced that the 35-year-old franchise icon will return for his ninth season with the franchise that he first joined in 2017 and added the title of hitting coach in 2021.

The King Returns to the Birdcage

The Sioux Falls Canaries are proud to announce the return of The King, as Jabari Henry has signed with the club for the upcoming season.

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— Sioux Falls Canaries (@canaries) March 6, 2026

Henry became the American Association’s all-time home run leader on May 29, surpassing Reggie Abercrombie with his 148th AA blast and ended the season with 163 roundtrippers—all but two in a Sioux Falls Canaries uniform (those were hit for St. Paul in 2019). Adding his one Atlantic League home run (also from ’19), Henry’s 164 home runs rank fifth in modern (since 1993) independent baseball history.

In addition to setting records, the veteran enjoyed a bounce-back year in 2025, slashing .262/.419/.544 with a .963 OPS that ranked third in the Association and was his best mark since 2021. Despite a brief trip to the injured list in early July, Henry also finished second in the circuit with 22 homers, his fourth 20-homer season and his first since 2022.

He followed that up with five more home runs and an AA-record 17 RBI in the postseason as he slugged the Birds perilously close to the Miles Wolff Cup in a five-game Finals loss to Kane County.

For his American Association career, Henry owns a .265/.387/.517 slash line with 652 hits, 122 doubles, 164 home runs, 516 RBI, and 456 walks over 672 games.

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