Coach Mickey Dean
Dean, whose championship pedigree extends from high school to the professional ranks, led the Highlanders to their first Big South championship in 2009 as well as the school’s first-ever NCAA tournament win in any sport.
The program’s remarkable year-by-year improvement under Dean culminated with a title last season, but was clearly a model of consistency: since 2006, the Highlanders are just one of 10 Division I teams to post four consecutive 40-win seasons.
Under the guidance of the winningest coach in program history, Radford has won 131 games (three 40-plus win seasons) over the past three years.
Radford's showing in the Chapel Hill regional, along with its 41-15 (16-2, Big South) campaign in 2009 earned the Highlander coaching staff NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Coaching Staff of the Year honors.
Under Dean’s tutelage, the Highlanders have garnered 19 all-conference and six regional (four 2009 first-teamers) selections, recorded the program’s highest (44) and end of the season (49) RPI in 2008, earned recognition in the 2008 national polls and has been ranked regularly among the top teams in several NCAA statistical categories.
Continuing the trend of record-breaking seasons in 2009, the Highlanders improved on school marks set in 2008 in home runs (71), batting average (.315), slugging percentage (.535), on-base percentage (.369) and conference wins (16). They also set new records with 24 double plays and 16 road wins.
Individually, marks that had been held since 1996 were broken as new records were set in batting average, home runs, slugging percentage and on base-percentage.
The success, however, extended beyond the box scores. After hosting and winning the 2009 Big South tournament, Dean and the Highlanders appeared in the tough Chapel Hill regional. Radford was edged by eventual national semifinalist Georgia, defeated Campbell and fell to the host and 15th-ranked Tar Heels.
The 9-5 come-from-behind win over the Camels was the first NCAA team victory for a Radford University athletic program in school history.
To go along with Radford's accolades, Dean also guided the Chicago Bandits of the National Pro FastPitch League to a 2008 championship, the first in franchise history. After completing his fourth season as the head coach of the Bandits, he was promoted to the team's general manager position in September.
The championships by the Bandits and Highlanders added to Dean’s stellar accomplishments. He has now won a championship at the high school, junior college, NCAA, professional and Olympic levels.
On the recruiting trail, Dean has reaped the benefits early on as his first two recruiting classes have made immediate impacts on the field. In 2008, Shannon Keefe was named the Big South and VaSID state Freshman of the Year and just a season later Leigh Godfrey garnered both those honors. Keefe was the first Highlander rookie to be recognized by the Big South since 1995.
Dean’s pitchers have been successful under his tutelage having been named the Big South Pitcher of the Year each season. In 2009, Chelsea Kelley followed in Ashley Taylor’s footsteps as the conference’s top pitcher as well as being one of the first four Highlanders to be named a first team all-region selection.
Following a strong coaching debut in 2007, Radford softball under Dean completed one of its most successful campaigns in school history in 2008. The Highlanders posted a school-best 46-15 mark that included a record 16-game winning streak.
Those were just two of several marks obtained that season. Along with the wins and winning streak, new records were set for winning percentage (.754), road/neutral site wins (34), hit by pitches (26) and road winning streak (eight games). As with 2007, several hitting records were set, only to be broken a season later.
On a national scale, Radford received its first vote in a NCAA poll, ranking it 34th and 37th nationally. The Highlanders recorded the highest RPI (44) in school history and finished the season 49th. They also garnered a Big South record seven first team all-conference selections and eight overall.
Dean was hired on Sept. 7, 2006 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.
In his first season with Radford, Dean guided the Highlanders to a then-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 region honors, while becoming the first Highlander to obtain all-conference accolades as a pitcher and hitter.
The Highlanders also broke several team and individual records in 2007. Dean’s pitchers struck out a school-record 492 batters, while the base runners swiped a program-best 128 bases. Along with those marks, several hitting records fell, only to be broken again in 2008.
A three-time NPF Manager of the Year, Dean became the sole manager of the Bandits in 2007 and after the 2008 championship he was named general manager. 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.
Along with the Highlanders and Bandits, Dean currently holds the position of pitching coach with the Venezuelan National Team.
Dean, who has been on the staff of the Venezuelan National team since 2002, helped lead the squad to the Gold Medal at the Central American Olympic Games in his first season 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. In 2008, Venezuela qualified for its first-ever Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Before coming to Radford, 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, helping 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 the 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 MAC 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.
Dean began coaching softball in 1996, taking 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 Games.
A 1987 graduate of Elon University, Dean holds a bachelor’s degree 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.
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