Michael Rory Littlewood is an American

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

coach. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

BYU Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day S ...

from 1985 to 1988, before playing professionally in 1988. He then served as the head coach of then ''Dixie State Rebels'' (later called "Red Storm", now

Utah Tech Trailblazers The Utah Tech Trailblazers, formerly known as the Dixie State Trailblazers, the Dixie State Red Storm and the Dixie State Rebels, are the 15 varsity athletic teams that represent Utah Tech University (formerly Dixie State University and similar n ...

) from 1996-2012, and then the

BYU Cougars The BYU Cougars are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Brigham Young University (BYU), located in Provo, Utah. BYU fields 21 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) varsity athletic teams. They are a member of the West ...

(2013–2022.)

Playing career

Littlewood was a third baseman at BYU, earning All-Conference as both a junior and senior. He was drafted in the 27th round of the 1988 MLB Draft by the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

and played one season at Class-A

Beloit Brewers Beloit may refer to Places in the United States * Beloit, Alabama * Beloit, Georgia *Beloit, Iowa *Beloit, Kansas * Beloit, Ohio *Beloit, Wisconsin * Beloit (town), Wisconsin, adjacent to the city of Beloit *Beloit Township, Mitchell County, Kansas ...

Coaching career

Shortly after his playing career ended, Littlewood accepted the head coaching position at Alta High School in

Sandy, Utah Sandy is a city in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, located in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. The population of Sandy was 87,461 at the 2010 census, making it the sixth-largest city in Utah. The population is currently estimated ...

. He remained for three seasons before moving to Dixie State, then a junior college in

St. George, Utah St. George is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Utah, United States. Located in southwestern Utah on the Arizona border, it is the principal city of the St. George Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The city lies in the northe ...

. Under Littlewood, the Rebels ''(and Red Storm)'' won 563 games, won one national championship, made four appearances in the National Junior College World Series, and claimed eight league titles. Littlewood was named National JUCO Coach of the Year in 2004. Dixie State transitioned to the Division II level under Littlewood in 2007. Littlewood also served during this time as an NCAA basketball referee, working three NCAA Sweet 16s and two Elite 8s. After being a finalist for the BYU head coaching position in 2000, when

Vance Law Vance Aaron Law (born October 1, 1956) is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1980–81), Chicago White Sox (1982–84), Montreal Expos (1985–87), Chicag ...

earned the job, Littlewood was hired at BYU prior to the 2013 season. In his first season, the Cougars tied for second in the

West Coast Conference The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...

and qualified for the first WCC Tournament. He was named the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 2019. On April 11, 2022, Littlewood resigned midseason for personal reasons.

Head coaching record

This table shows Littlewood's record as a head coach at the Division I level.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Littlewood, Mike Living people 1966 births Baseball third basemen Beloit Brewers players BYU Cougars baseball coaches BYU Cougars baseball players College men's basketball referees in the United States Utah Tech Trailblazers baseball coaches High school baseball coaches in the United States