Accomplishments


2007 USA Softball National Team Head Coach Mike Candrea is synonymous with softball success. "I don't just want to win, I want to dominate," is a phrase Coach Candrea echoed during the journey to the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. Making his words a reality, Team USA recorded one of the most dominant Olympic performances in history, outscoring opponents 51-1. In 2004, Candrea was recognized by the United States Olympic Committee with the 'Olympic Shield' award, which is the most prestigious award within the U.S. Olympic Movement. He was also honored as the 2004 USOC Coach of the Year.

During his career as head coach at the University of Arizona, Candrea has won eight NCAA National Championships; his most recent title just came in June at the 2007 Women's College World Series which was the first time a team had won back-to-back National Championships since the 2003-2004 season. In his 21 years at U of A, his Wildcat teams have made 21 of 22 trips to the NCAA Tournament (1987-2007) and 19 of 20 trips to the NCAA Women's College World Series (1988-2003, 2005-2007). In 12 of those 19 trips to the WCWS, Arizona has advanced to the championship game.

Candrea, who has compiled a 1131-228-2 (.832) record during his 21 years at the helm of the Wildcat program, has been named Pac-10 Coach or co-Coach of the Year nine times, most recently in 2007. He has also garnered three National Coach of the Year honors (1994, 1996 & 1997).

Although he is almost immediately associated with his Arizona program, Candrea also has a successful coaching history climbing the ranks of USA Softball. As an assistant coach in 1994, Candrea worked with the legendary skipper Ralph Raymond to help the United States capture a gold medal at the Women's World Championship.

In 2001, Candrea was on the staff of the USA Blue squad. He performed the duties as head coach when the team competed in the Canada Cup, and served as an assistant when the team won a gold medal at the Pan American Games Qualifier. In 2002, under his leadership the Red, White and Blue captured its fifth consecutive and seventh overall World Championship while also capturing titles at the U.S. Cup and the Canada Cup. In 2003, Candrea once again led the USA Softball Women's National Team to gold by winning its fifth consecutive Pan American gold medal.

After a lackluster year in 2005, Candrea turned things around in 2006 and led the USA Women's National Team to its first World Cup title and its eighth consecutive ISF World Championship title.

He has two children, son Mikel, 28, and daughter Michelle, 25. Mikel, a 2004 Arizona graduate, had worked with the baseball team and strength and conditioning programs prior to his graduation. He is currently working as an assistant softball coach at Pacific. Michelle celebrated the birth of her son, Jaylen Mikel on Oct. 27, 2005. Jaylen is Candrea's first grandchild. Just before celebrating the New Year, Candrea opened a new chapter of his life. He wed the former Tina Tilton on Dec. 30th. Tina has two sons Ryan, 22 and Sean 18. Both are students at the University of Arizona.