Mickey Dean
Head Softball Coach

THE Dean FILE

Profile:

Mickey Dean, in his second year as the head coach at Radford University, has brought a wealth of coaching experience from the collegiate, international and pro levels to the Highlander softball program. Dean primarily focuses on pitchers and catchers, while overseeing all aspects of the program.

In just his first season with the Highlanders, Dean helped lead the Highlanders to a school record 44-27 mark and their second straight appearance in the Big South Championship Game. Under his guidance, RU athletes earned six All-Conference awards and four All-State accolades. Ashley Taylor was named Big South Pitcher of the Year and earned Southeast All-Region honors, while becoming the first Highlander to obtain two All-Conference accolades as a pitcher and hitter.

The Highlanders also broke several team and individual records last season. His pitchers struck out a school record 492 batters, while the base runners swiped a school record 128 bases. Along with those marks, several hitting records were set.

Along with the Highlanders, Dean currently holds the positions of head coach of the National Pro FastPitch League's (NPF) Chicago Bandits and the pitching coach of the Venezuelan National Team.

Dean, who has been on the staff of the Venezuelan National team since 2002, helped lead the team to the Gold Medal at the Central Olympic Games in his first season with the team and a Bronze Medal at the 2006 Pan American Games in Guatemala. He was also on the coaching staff in 2003 when Venezuela played in the Olympic qualifying tournament.

The 2005 and 2006 NPF Manager of the Year, has been with the Bandits the last three seasons. In 2007, Dean became the sole manager of the Bandits. Prior to that, he along with co-manager Eugene Lenti led the Bandits to regular season championships in 2005 and 2006, including a 30-12 finish in 2006.

Dean was hired on Sept. 7 as Radford University's fifth head coach in school history. He joined Radford after two seasons as an assistant and associate head coach at Longwood University.

Dean became a member of Longwood's coaching staff as an assistant in 2005 and was promoted to associate head coach in 2006. During his two seasons, he served as the pitching coach, recruiting coordinator and defense strategy coach.

Prior to the Bandits, Dean spent two seasons (2002-2004) as an assistant coach at Indiana University. He helped guide the Hoosiers to their first winning season since 1997, finishing 2004 with a 32-31 record. The 2004 pitching staff also ranks second all-time in strikeouts in a season at Indiana.

Before joining the staff at Indiana, Dean was an assistant at University of Akron from 2001-2002, where the Zips won the Mid-American Conference (East Division) Championship in 2002. While at Akron, he coached the 2002 Mid-American Conference Pitcher of the Year.

He was also an assistant coach for Lake City Community College (Fla.) (LCCC) in the spring of 2000, before being promoted to head coach in the fall of the same year. As head coach of LCCC, he led the team to a NJCAA National Championship with a 65-5 record, earning him NJCAA Tournament Coach of the Year.

He began coaching in 1996 when he took over the head coaching position at Orange County High School in Orange, Va. He was at the helm of the Hornets from 1996-1999, winning two Virginia AA State Titles (1998-99) and reaching the state semifinals in 1997. During his stint at OCHS, Dean was named Group AA Coach of the Year in 1998 and 1999 and co-coach of the year in 1997. He was also selected to coach in the 1999 and 2000 Virginia East-West All-Star Game.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in 1987 from Elon University in public administration. During his playing days, he was a four-year member of the baseball team which participated in the NAIA College World Series in both 1985 and 1987.

Dean and his wife Liz reside in Pulaski with their two children, Isaac and Caroline.