Lauren Bauer was crying off and on Monday morning after she heard the news of UA coach Mike Candrea’s retirement.

Bauer played for “Coach,” as everybody calls him, from 1998-2001, winning a national championship in her senior year. A four-time All-American who finished with a .411 batting average, Bauer was on the 2001 Pan Am qualifying team for Team USA and claimed a gold medal. She went onto play professionally before attending law school and becoming an attorney.

Bauer said Monday’s news hit hard, even though she and her UA softball sisters knew that this day would come.

“He’s a constant presence; he’s always there,” Bauer said. “That’s why it’s hard for him going because he’s no longer on that same perch at the University of Arizona on the softball field. He’s still there for all of us.”

As she continued, her voice cracked with emotion.

“He’s just that voice in your head — that person you want to make proud with everything you do … your whole life,” she said. “You want to perform on the field, but then you want to go and achieve in life, too.

“I cried when I saw coach’s family (in the stands at the WCWS), I was sitting there and I knew. I was like ‘Oh my gosh!’ But then my husband is like, ‘No coach has five more years left in him.’ I was like, ‘Hey, maybe there’s a chance he stays).’”

Amy Chellevold Hillenbrand talked Monday about a man who was her coach, boss — and a member of her wedding party. Hillenbrand served on Candrea’s staff for a number of years after winning three national titles under him as a player.

“It’s hard for everybody, but it’s also positive for Coach Candrea and his family. We borrowed him for so many years from them,” Hillenbrand said. “He’s been so dedicated to so many people and they deserve to have it back now. He looked after all of us like we were his own and he had a hand in raising each and every one of us and not one of us was the same. He helped to mold us into who we are and our parents could be happy because they entrusted him with our care. His personal touch he put into every one of our lives. It wasn’t just going to a program, playing and leaving. You became part of the family. It stays with you.”

Bauer will always remember a heart-to-heart conversation she had with Candrea at the end of her sophomore year. Sitting in an airport, the two talked about how she wasn’t performing well on the field or in the classroom.

“It just hit me, the fact that he saw that I was struggling,” Bauer said. “That conversation helped redirect me in the right direction. I started making the right choices. I turned my grades around so that I could apply to law school and get a scholarship. And then I started playing better on the field. That year I only made third-team All American and then I was back on my path to first-team All American. My play, my performance improved. My attitude, my effort improved. I started fulfilling my potential from that point that’s helped me have a 15-year successful career as an attorney.”

Speculation had been surrounding the program for weeks that this would be Candrea’s last season. The Wildcats rewarded him by making their 24th Women’s College World Series appearance. They fell to Alabama in Thursday’s opener, then were eliminated Saturday by Florida State. Many of Candrea’s former players and family members made the trip, knowing it would be his final one.

Legendary UA softball coach Mike Candrea announced in June 2021 that he is retiring after 36 seasons and a record 24 Women's College World Series appearances and eight national championships.

Hillenbrand was especially moved while watching the World Series this year.

“Alabama’s Montana Fouts came and tracked him down and shook his hand,” Hillenbrand said. “It was super emotional for me because it’s really said what he means to this game. I thought that was super classy of her to do that.”

Reactions to Candrea’s retirement and what the man who is considered one of the pioneers of the sports of softball started flooding in from around McKale Center.

UA women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes said Candrea was one of the first coaches to talk to her when she first was hired five years ago.

“He always believed in me and gave me so much advice on how to build a program, how to do things right and the things that he does and I would just soak everything he tells me,” Barnes said. “He’s really helped me the last five years. I mean there’s some specific things I’ve done my program that were successful and I think it’s from him. I would just sit there and question him about philosophy. I could call him at any time. When we had big wins, he’d be the first to text me. Our relationship is meaningful.

“I have so much respect and admiration for him. When he’d talk I’d just listen. He’s sustained success for over three decades. It’s incredible. To have such a good coach in your department that you can just go down the hall and lean on is so invaluable. I look at what he’s done for the sport — he’s left an imprint on the sport, which is something that most coaches will never do in their lifetime. He’s influenced, he’s coach at the highest level — he’s changed the game. He’s our (Stanford coach) Tara VanDerveer, (Former Tennessee coach) Pat Summitt — he’s that for softball.”

Volleyball coach Dave Rubio, who is entering his 30th year coaching at UA this fall, said Candrea was”a wonderful role model for me” as a young coach.

“Despite all his success he was humble and handled himself with class,” Rubio said. “Today, softball is experiencing unprecedented growth and popularity. This would not have happened if it were not for Mike Candrea.”

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