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Mickey Dean
Mickey Dean enters his seventh season as the head coach of the Auburn softball program. In 17 years at the collegiate level, Dean has coached 12 NCAA Tournament teams, including one super regional participant, and won nine conference championships. He is one of four active head coaches to led three different programs to the NCAA Tournament.
A native of Elkton, Va., Dean has guided 84 all-conference players, 47 all-region honorees and nine all-Americans, including 2017 National Player of the Year, Megan Good, and 2023 SEC Pitcher of the Year, Maddie Penta. He has also been touted as the conference coach of the year eight times.
During his time on the Plains, Dean has guided the Tigers to a 206-109 overall record behind three 40-win seasons to become the second winningest coach in Auburn softball history. He has guided the Tigers to five NCAA Regional appearances. Dean’s resume at Auburn also includes seven NFCA All-Region selections, eight All-SEC selections and one NFCA All-American. During his tenure, Bri Ellis became the program’s first undisputed SEC Freshman of the Year while Maddie Penta earned the program’s first SEC Pitcher of the Year honor.
In his sixth year on the Plains, Dean led Auburn to its best season during his tenure. Behind a second straight 40-win season, Auburn closed 2023 with a 43-19 record, its most wins in a season under Dean. Auburn finished conference action with a 15-9 record to finish third in SEC play, its first winning record under head and its highest league finish since 2017. The Tigers also earned their first series win over LSU and first series win at Aabama since 2017 and their first sweep of Missouri in school history. Auburn earned its ninth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance and forced the “if necessary” game at No. 10 Clemson.
Dean reached a coaching milestone during his sixth season at the helm of the Tigers, picking up his 200th victory on the Plains in Auburn’s 10-0 victory at South Carolina on April 30.
Offensively, Auburn ranked in the top five in the SEC in runs scored (323) and home runs (64). Nelia Peralta was the heart of Auburn’s offense during the 2023 as she led the Tigers in hits (54), runs scored (39), walks (43), batting average (.329) and on-base percentage (.479). Peralta was the first Tiger to record 50 or more hits in a season since 2019 and her efforts were rewarded with an All-SEC Second Team and NFCA All-Southeast Region Third Team honors. Denver Bryant joined Peralta as an All-SEC Second Team member after tuning in a .322 batting average in SEC play.
It was in the circle where a star was born as Maddie Penta put on an all-American performance during her breakout junior season. Penta became just the 16th NFCA All-American in school history and was the first Tiger pitcher to ever earn first-team accolades.
The SEC leader in wins with 27 to tie the program’s single-season record, Penta was dominating throughout the season. The first SEC Pitcher of the Year in program history, Penta ranked second nationally with 303 strikeouts to her credit, which shattered Auburn's junior strikeout record. She is just the second pitcher in program history to record 300 strikeouts in a season, joining Kristen Keyes (2004).
Other highlights for the First Team All-SEC honoree include setting the program record with four SEC Pitcher of the Week selections, tying the program record for strikeouts in a SEC game with 17 versus Missouri, earning Auburn's first shutout win over Florida in Gainesville since 2017, picking up Auburn's first road series win at Alabama since 2017 behind a pair of victories and tossing Auburn's first no-hitter in SEC play in 17 years with her efforts in the series finale at South Carolina.
She closed her junior season ranked in the top 10 in 11 Auburn single-season pitching categories, which included finishing first or tied for first in wins, games started and combined shutouts in a season. She also sits in the top 10 in 20 Auburn career pitching categories, including wins, strikeouts, earned run average, innings pitched and shutouts.
Dean’s fifth season on the Plains featured a massive overhaul to the program’s offense. After opening the season with a 24-1 record, the Tigers would end 2022 with a total of 40 victories, including top-10 wins over No. 8 Kentucky and No. 7 Florida. Dean also helped Auburn to the program’s 900th victory with a 10-0 victory at Jacksonville State on Feb. 23, 2022. The Tigers earned a postseason berth as the two-seeded team at the Clemson Regional.
More than tripling its home run numbers from a season ago, Auburn finished 14th in the nation with 86. The mark was the third highest total in a season in school history. Auburn’s offense was also highlighted with top-five season performances in team batting average, slugging percentage, runs scored, triples, home runs, RBI and total bases.
Auburn’s revitalized offense was due in part to the 2022 freshman class. Auburn’s top three RBI producers of the 2022 season were freshmen Bri Ellis, Nelia Peralta and Jessie Blaine. Ellis was the breakout star as she shattered the program’s freshman home run record with 20, the third most in the SEC. A top-10 finalist for Schutt Sports/NFCA National Freshman of the Year, Ellis was also tabbed to Extra Inning Softball’s All-Freshman Team and added Second Team All-SEC honors after leading the Tigers in home runs, RBI and slugging percentage.
Due to injuries in the pitching circle, Maddie Penta became the workhorse in the circle for the Tigers and shattered records along the way to become the program’s pitcher to ever earn NFCA First Team All-Region honors. Penta led the SEC in victories (23) and finished second in strikeouts (258). She was the first pitcher since 2010 to surpass 250 strikeouts in a season and went on to set the program’s sophomore strikeout record. Penta finished in the top five in four Auburn single-season pitching records, including wins, starts, strikeouts per seven innings and lowest batting average against. Her efforts also earned her First Team All-SEC accolades.
In his fourth season at Auburn, Dean navigated the Tigers through the uncertainties of playing a season during the heart of COVID-19 pandemic. He carried Auburn to 27 victories, highlighted by the program’s first victories in Columbia, Mo., College Station, Texas, and Baton Rouge, La., since 2015. The Tigers also upset No. 12 Kentucky picking up the series win at Jane B. Moore Field.
Dean would earn his 100th victory as head coach of the Tigers on Feb. 20, 2021, as Auburn upset No. 10 South Carolina 5-4 in non-conference competition during the Osprey/Dolphin Invitational in Jacksonville, Fla. Dean would add his 600th career head coaching victory on April 25, 2021, when Auburn took a 3-1 victory over Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss.
The 2021 season was highlighted by the breakout performances from pitching freshman duo Shelby Lowe and Maddie Penta. The pair combined for a total of five SEC Freshman of the Week honors becoming just the second and third Auburn freshman pitchers to win the award multiple times in a season. Penta set the program record with three freshman weekly honors from the league office.
After becoming the first Auburn freshman pitcher to toss a no-hitter in a season opener in Auburn’s 8-0 win over Southeast Missouri State, Penta would close her debut season with a pair of no-hitters. Penta would toss Auburn’s first seven-inning no-hitter since 2012 in a 5-0 victory over IUPUI. She was the first Auburn pitcher since Marcy Harper in 2014. to pitch multiple no-hitters in the same season.
Lowe turned in one of the most dominating pitching performances by an Auburn freshman in school history. Lowe closed the year setting Auburn’s single-season record for fewest walks allowed per seven innings (1.18), while also ranking sixth in single-season history for earned run average (1.48), eighth for longest scoreless innings streak (24.1) and 10th in strikeouts (179) and complete games (15). Her 179 strikeouts were the most by an Auburn pitcher in over a decade. Lowe recorded the second most strikeouts and second lowest ERA by an Auburn freshman pitcher in program history.
Lowe and Penta both surpassed 100 strikeouts during their freshman campaigns, marking the first time in school history that Auburn had two freshman pitchers surpass 100+ strikeouts in the same season.
The duo was honored alongside fellow freshmen Makayla Packer and Sydney Cox as members of the 2021 SEC All-Freshman Team, setting Auburn’s program record with the four selections. Lowe added All-SEC Second Team honors to become the only freshman pitcher in program history to be honored with all-conference honors during their debut season. Maddison Kopeke rounded out the SEC accolades with a selection to the SEC All-Newcomer Team.
Lowe would go on to be one of 15 finalists for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year award and would secure NFCA All-Southeast Region Third Team honors.
Dean’s third season at Auburn was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before the 2020 season was halted, Dean helped the Tigers to 16 wins, highlighted by victories over No. 25 Northwestern and No. 16 Minnesota. The Tigers made program history on March 2, 2020, when Alyssa Rivera (Player), Samantha Yarbrough (Pitcher) and Carlee McCondichie (Freshmen) swept the SEC’s weekly awards. It marked the first time Auburn has swept all three SEC awards.
Auburn closed the 2019 season with a 39-21 overall record, earning its sixth straight NCAA Tournament bid. The Tigers closed the conference slate with a 10-14 mark and earned a spot in the 2019 SEC Softball Tournament semifinals. Dean guided Kendall Veach to All-SEC and NFCA All-Region team honors. The program made history as the senior class was drafted in the 2019 National Pro Fastpitch Draft.
Dean led Auburn to a 15-0 start to open the 2018 season, which tied the best start in program history and were the most wins in SEC history among first-year head coaches. He earned his 500th career win during the Wilson/DeMarini Classic when Auburn earned a shutout win over Western Illinois on Mar. 4. He led the Tigers to their 800th win in program history with a 2-1 victory over Kennesaw State on April 4.
Dean came to Auburn after five seasons as the head coach at James Madison. During his five-year stint at James Madison, Dean complied a record of 237-56 (.809). He amassed five 40-win seasons, including the final two campaigns with 52 and 50 victories, respectively. The Dukes broke 104 program records, including over 40 pitching records while boasting one of the nation's top staffs under Dean's guidance.
Prior to his reign in Harrisonburg, Va., Dean spent six seasons as the head coach at Radford where he took the Highlanders to their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearances in 2009 and 2010. On October 20, 2023, Radford Athletics inducted Dean into its Hall of Fame.
Before taking the position at Radford, Dean served as an assistant coach at Akron (2001-02), Indiana (2002-04) and Longwood (2005-06).
In addition to his collegiate coaching experience, Dean has also worked on the professional and international level.
He was the pitching coach for the Venezuelan National Team (2002-08) and the head coach for the Chicago Bandits (2004-10) that finished as the National Pro Fastpitch regular season champions five times and won the title in 2008.
Dean was named NPF Manager of the Year three times and coached world-renowned pitcher Jennie Finch, who was the NPF's Co-Pitcher of the Year in 2005 and has a gold and silver medal from her two Team USA Olympic appearances.
A 1987 graduate of Elon University, Dean was a pitcher on the baseball team where he was a four-year letterwinner.
Dean and his wife, Liz, and have two adult children: Isaac and Eli.
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