John Michael Candrea (born August 29, 1955) is the former head

softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

coach at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. ...

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive ...

. He was the head coach of the

United States women's national softball team The United States women's national softball team is the national softball team of the United States. It is governed by USA Softball (formerly known as the Amateur So ...

in 2004, when Team USA won a gold medal, and in 2008, bringing home silver. At the time of his retirement in 2021, Candrea was the all-time winningest coach in college softball history, and ranked fourth of any coach in any NCAA sport with 1,674 wins.

Education and career beginnings

Born in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Phoenix at age seven. He graduated from Sunnyslope High School and later earned an associate degree at Central Arizona College in 1975, a bachelor's degree at

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in t ...

in 1978, and a master's degree from Arizona State in 1980. Candrea was an assistant baseball coach at Central Arizona from 1976 to 1980 and a softball coach from 1981 through 1985.

University of Arizona

Under Candrea, the Arizona softball team has become one of the top programs in the United States and a perennial powerhouse in the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

. Candrea has coached at Arizona since 1986, where he has garnered 1610 NCAA wins, along with eleven

Pac-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

titles. Candrea also has ten Pac-10 coach of the year awards. The Arizona softball team has won eight

Women's College World Series The Women's College World Series (WCWS) is the final portion of the NCAA Division I softball tournament for college softball in the United States. Eight teams participate in the WCWS, which begins with a double-elimination tournament. In other wo ...

titles, in 1991, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2006, and 2007, all under Candrea. The team appeared in the NCAA Women's College World Series 16 consecutive years, from 1988 to 2003, and again from 2005 to 2010—22 appearances, all coming in the last 23 seasons. In addition, UA has appeared in 12 WCWS title games, including eight consecutive appearances, from 1991 and 1998. UA has most recently appeared in the 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007 and 2010 WCWS games. Under Candrea at UA, the number of WCWS appearances is second only to

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a Normal school, teachers colle ...

. On March 26 he became the second coach in NCAA division 1 with 1,500 wins the fastest to ever do so. On March 5, 2019, Candrea won his 1,580th game tying him with Carol Hutchins of Michigan for most in NCAA Softball history. Later during the 2019 season, on April 19, Candrea defeated Stanford 9−1 to become only the second coach in NCAA softball history to reach the 1,600 win plateau, and the fastest coach to reach the milestone. On June 7, 2021, the University of Arizona announced that Candrea would be retiring after 36 seasons as head coach. The next day Candrea officially announced his retirement at a farewell news conference in McKale Center. He finished his career as the winningest coach in collegiate softball history with 1,674 wins and fourth most of any coach in any NCAA sport. During his career he led the Wildcats to eight national championships, 24 appearances in the

, 34 postseason berths, and 10 conference championships.

Head coaching record

The following lists Candrea's record as a head coach at the NCAA level.

Team USA

Team USA won its third consecutive gold medal at the Athens Olympic Games. In addition, Candrea led the national team to two consecutive World Cup championships, most recently in 2007.

Personal life

Candrea was married to Sue Ellen Hudson for 28 years until her tragic death in July 2004, 10 days before the Olympic Games. Candrea has two children from this marriage, Mikel and Michelle. In 2005, Candrea welcomed his first grandchild from his daughter Michelle. In 2006, Candrea married the former Tina Tilton. He gained two stepsons from his marriage with Tilton.

References

External links

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Arizona profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Candrea, Mike 1955 births Living people American Olympic coaches Softball coaches from Arizona American softball coaches Arizona Wildcats softball coaches Central Arizona Vaqueros baseball coaches Arizona State University alumni Central Arizona Vaqueros baseball players Sportspeople from New Orleans Sportspeople from the Phoenix metropolitan area People from Casa Grande, Arizona Central Arizona Vaqueros softball coaches United States women's national softball team coaches