Email coach
Mike Reed
From starting the UT Tyler softball program in 2005, to leading it to the NCAA Division III National Championship in 2016 and through its current transition to Division II, head coach Mike Reed has guided the Patriots to a 756-134 record and 13 NCAA tournament appearances.
Reed ranks fourth among all NCAA divisions in career winning percentage (.825), posting a 861-174 career mark through 22 career seasons. He owns the second-highest all-time win percentage among Division III coaches, coaching 18 of his 20 seasons at the Division III level, and is a nine-time American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year, and seven-time NFCA Regional Coach of the Year. He has helped develop 36 All-Americans, 103 all-region and 162 all-conference selections and has led the UT Tyler program to the NCAA World Series in nine of the 13 years since the Patriots became postseason eligible in Division III.
That tradition of excellence has immediately translated to the Division II level for the Patriots, as Reed and his staff guided UT Tyler softball to consecutive appearances in the NCAA Division II World Series and three straight Lone Star Conference Regular Season Championships in the program's first three seasons. The Patriots advanced to the NCAA Division II World Series as champions of the South Central Region in the first two seasons of postseason eligibility for the program in 2022-23.
UT Tyler is 161-25 since beginning NCAA Division II play in 2019, and has produced a record of 97-12 in Lone Star Conference play during that stretch.
The 2023 version of the Patriots went 62-6, a program record for wins in a season, and finished as semifinalists in the NCAA Division II World Series for a second-straight season. UT Tyler earned the no. 1 overall seed in both the South Central Region and at the NCAA Division II World Series for a second straight year after putting together a Division II-best 27 game winning streak. UT Tyler finished the season ranked no. 3 in the NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll after maintaining a top-five position in all 12 regular season versions of the poll.
UT Tyler forced the if-necessary game against eventual national champions North Georgia in the return trip to the national tournament for the program. The Patriots advanced to Chattanooga, Tenn. after going 5-0 in the NCAA South Central Regional Tournament shortly after their inaugural Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament Title. That accolade came following a 39-2 year in the Lone Star Conference and a third straight LSC Regular Season Title in each of the first three complete seasons of play for the Patriots.
The title marked the eighth conference championship for Reed during his time at UT Tyler, leading to his staff's selection as the 2023 NFCA South Central Region Coaching Staff of the Year, the third straight year winning that distinction for the program.
Tatum Goff was named the 2023 NFCA DIvision II Pitcher of the Year after going 42-0, a NCAA Division II record for most consecutive victories and an NCAA record at all levels for most single season wins without a loss, and was named as an NFCA First Team All-American for a second straight season. Goff was joined on the NFCA First Team All-American list by JT Smith, while Courtney Plocheck was an NFCA Second Team All-American.
That 2022 squad for UT Tyler appeared as the no. 1 ranked team in the country according to the NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll in 13 out of the 14 regular season polls, and unanimously sat atop that poll in eight of those weeks. UT Tyler was ranked in the no. 1 spot in all three of the NCAA South Central Regional Polls, earning the program the no. 1 overall seed in both the regional tournament and NCAA Division II World Series.
The Patriots finished the 2022 season as National Semifinalists, winning two elimination games at the World Series before being downed in the semifinals by eventual national champion Rogers State. UT Tyler completed their campaign with a 49-9 record, and a second straight LSC Regular Season Title with a record of 26-4 in LSC play.
Ashley Perez completed her UT Tyler career in 2022 as one of the most distinguished position players in the history of the program, earning her fourth All-American distinctions as an NFCA and D2CCA First Team All-American. Tatum Goff joined Perez as a First Team All-American on the NFCA list, and a Third Team selection on the D2CCA list. UT Tyler had a total of eight All-South Central Region distinctions between the NFCA and D2CCA lists, as Goff and Perez were named to the First Team by both organizations, Courtney Plocheck, Bayli Simon and Sarah Gartman to the Second Team list for the D2CCA, and Amanda Marek to the Second Team list by the NFCA.
The Patriots garnered a total of 12 awards on the LSC All-Conference list as Reed repeated as the LSC Coach of the Year and Tatum Goff was tabbed as the league's Newcomer of the Year. Perez, Goff and Courtney Plocheck were named All-LSC First Team selections, while Bayli Simon, Mak Dominguez, Michelle Arias and Sarah Gartman were all named Third Team honorees. Shannon Klaus was named to the Golden Glove Team, Kaylee Davis to the All-Freshman Team, and Payton Foster to the All-Academic Team as well.
UT Tyler finished the 2021 season with a 33-7 overall record and a 27-3 mark in Lone Star Conference play, rising to as high as no. 2 in the NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. Pitcher Payton Foster was named as an All-American selection by both the NFCA and D2CCA, while Ashley Perez added the third All-American selection of her career under Reed's guidance as a Second Team honoree by the D2CCA.
Foster and Perez earned two of the seven All-Region selections from UT Tyler following the 2021 season, as both Patriot starting pitchers in Foster and Erin Hill were named First Team All-South Central Region picks by the D2CCA and Perez a Second Team selection. Foster and Hill were named First Team selections by the NFCA as well, alongside Courtney Plocheck, who joined the two pitchers on the First Team list as a utility player. UT Tyler dominated the All-Lone Star Conference accolades, as Reed was named the LSC Coach of the Year, Foster the Pitcher of the Year and Hill the Newcomer of the Year. Six Patriots found their name on the All-LSC First or Second Teams list to combine for 12 total All-LSC accolades for the program. Hill, Perez and Haleigh Swinney were also recognized for their success in the classroom, earning CoSIDA Academic All-District honors as well. Reed and company posted a 4-1 record against opponents ranked inside the final 2021 NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll, including convincing 8-1 and 10-3 wins over eventual Division II National Champions West Texas A&M.
In 2020, Reed guided UT Tyler to a 17-3 record and a final top-5 ranking in its first season in Division II and the Lone Star Conference despite the season being shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the program's opening weekend of Division II competition, the Patriots went 5-0 to claim the Desert Stinger Tournament team title, part of a season-opening 16-game winning streak. UT Tyler was ranked as high as fourth nationally in Division II after starting the season unranked nationally and 10th in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll. Four of the Patriots' victories came against Top-25 opponents. After the season, Reed's team claimed the Lone Star Conference academic championship, leading all LSC softball programs with a 3.64 GPA for the 2019-20 school year.
Reed led the Patriots to a 36-4 record in 2019. The Patriots again led the conference in most statistical categories, including batting average (.389), ERA (1.84), and fielding percentage (.984). The Patriots led the nation in fielding, runs per game, and on base percentage, and they ranked second nationally in batting average. Three players earned All-American recognition, while six were named All-Region, and 10 claimed All-Conference honors.
Reed guided the 2018 Patriots to another incredible season, seeing them finish 44-5 with a 5th Place finish at the National Tournament. Along the road to the championship the Patriots made a clean sweep through the season winning the ASC regular season and tournament championships, the NCAA regional and super regional championships. The team had five players named All-American, six named All-Region, and 10 named All-Conference. The Patriots led the conference in most statistical categories including: batting average (.387), ERA (1.42), and fielding percentage (.976). Coach Reed and his staff were again named the conference and regional coaching staff of year.
The Patriots were 46-6 in 2017, where they advanced to their third straight NCAA DIII Championship before placing and sixth overall while also playing in the ASC Championship finals for the10th straight season. The Patriots finished the season with the #2 NFCA ranking. Reed and his staff earned NFCA West Region Staff of the Year for the team's success in 2017, while Kaylee Prather and Cheyenne Thompson earned NFCA All-America honors. Along with All-Americans, the program had five all-region selections in Prather, Thompson, KK Stevens, Alaina Kissinger and Andrea Gonzales. Prather earned ASC Player of the Year to highlight conference recognition which also included All-ASC honors for Gonzales, Stevens, Kissinger, Thompson, Bianca Van Vlerah, Mel Hinojosa, Lexi Ackroyd, Whitney Romero and Hannah Moore.
Reed led the Patriots to the 2016 National Championship to secure the program's first national title after guiding the team to the national runner-up finish in 2015. After the runner-up finish the year before, the Patriots dominated in Salem, Virginia at the national championship by outscoring their opponents 30-1 and securing the title with a 7-0 win over Messiah in the finals. The national championship comes after Reed led the program to four American Southwest Conference Championships and to the College World Series five times. The 2016 season is the highlight for the program with the team ending the season in a dog pile to celebrate the NCAA DIII National Championship. UT Tyler pitcher Kelsie Batten was honored individually as the NFCA National Player of the Year and was named an All-American along with shortstop Raven Rodriguez. Reed and his staff were honored as the NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year, while Batten, Rodriguez, Prather, Stevens and Vanessa Carrizales were named to the all-region team. Rodriguez was named the ASC Player of the Year, Batten the ASC Pitcher of the Year and Prather, Batten, Stevens, Kissinger, Carrizales, Jackie Mendez, Kristin Lopez and Jade Green earned all-conference recognition.
The 2015 campaign was another historic season for the Patriots and Coach Reed, as the team won the second-most games in NCAA Div. III history going 50-5. The Patriots reached the National Championship series for the first time in program history, falling to Tufts in two games. Coach Reed also reached another historic milestone on the year, winning his 500th career game on April 3 in a 7-2 win over Texas-Dallas. Reed's all-time win-percentage ranks in the Top 10 all-time among all NCAA softball coaches, regardless of division. Three players, K.K. Stevens (1), Kelsie Batten (2) and Vanessa Carrizales (3) were named NFCA All-Americans, with Batten becoming the first three-time All-American in UT Tyler softball history. Six players were named NFCA All-Region, including Stevens, Batten, Carrizales, Raven Rodriguez, Lexi Ackroyd and Jackie Mendez.
For the year, UT Tyler ranked eighth in the nation in team batting (.370 average) while the pitching staff ranked third in the country, boasting a 1.11 Team ERA. The Patriots set new team records in runs scored (428), team average (.371), hits (542), doubles (114), most strikeouts per seven innings by pitchers (5.90), most wins (50) and most shutouts with 24 among others.
Coach Reed and his staff were once again named the NFCA West Region Coaching Staff of the Year and the ASC Coaching Staff of the Year for the 2015 season.
2014 was another historic season for Coach Reed, the only head coach in program history. The Patriots finished No. 8 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top-25 Poll, finishing with a 41-6 record and an American Southwest Conference Regular Season and Tournament championship.
Two players, Lauren Robenalt (1) and Kelsie Batten (2) were named NFCA All-Americans, while five were named NFCA All-Region.
Coach Reed and his staff were named the ASC Coaching Staff of the Year for the third time in program history, while 10 Patriots were named All-ASC.
2013 was a record-breaking season for the Patriots, setting a new program record for wins in a season with 47 while only losing six games. The Patriots went 23-1 in the American Southwest Conference, winning the East Division for the third time in program history. Even though UT Tyler fell short in the ASC Championship tournament, the Patriots still went on to win their third NCAA Regional Championship, defeating East Texas Baptist in a classic 7-6 game.
During the season, Coach Reed picked up his 400th career win and 300th win while at UT Tyler. The Patriots finished the year as the No. 3 ranked team in the nation, after finishing fourth at the NCAA DIII World Series. UT Tyler was one of the top offensive teams in the country, finishing with team batting average of .352. UT Tyler also was one of the top defensive teams in the nation, ranking 14th in team ERA (1.65) and 20th in fielding percentage at .968.
Reed helped coach three All-Americans, Joey Cronin, Kelsie Batten and Heather Abshire. Cronin and Batten were also All-Region and named ASC East Division Hitter and Pitcher of the Year.
The 2012 season was another successful one for Reed and the Patriots, as they advanced, yet again, to the NCAA Regionals, where they rolled all the way to the regional championship game, before falling to eventual National Champion Pacific Lutheran. The Patriots finished the year with a 39-9 overall record. Katelyn Thomason and Joey Cronin were each named All-Americans, with Thomason earning second team honors on the NFCA team and Cronin receiving second team on the Capitol One team.
In 2011, the Patriots posted a 40-13 overall record on their way to their second NCAA West Region Championship and their second trip to the NCAA DIII Women's College World Series, where they finished 3rd.
The Patriots have achieved a No. 1 national ranking twice, during three different seasons, in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) poll.
Reed came to UT Tyler in 2004 from East Texas Baptist University, where he coached the Tigers to the ASC Championship in all three years and left as the all-time leader in career wins at 105-31 (.772). He was twice named ASC East Coach of the Year for his efforts, which twice saw his teams advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2002 and 2003.
The Clarksville, Texas native earned his masters of education at UT Tyler, also holding his bachelor’s degree in business administration from ETBU. His standout playing career for the ETBU baseball team was highlighted by a no-hitter, while his name is still scattered in the record books in several statistical categories.
Reed has served various administrative roles over his career, including Assistant AD of Compliance at ETBU for three years, Assistant AD of Compliance at UT Tyler for eight years, and Assistant AD of Business and Budget for four years.
Reed and his wife Amanda have three children: Garrett, Gavin and Rylee Paige.
show more