Editor’s note: This story appears in Sunday’s special section honoring retiring UA softball coach Mike Candrea.
If there were a Mount Rushmore of softball coaches, Mike Candrea would be Teddy Roosevelt, mustache and all. Truthfully, there are not enough letters in the alphabet to fully celebrate the retiring coach’s impact on the Arizona Wildcats, nor on the sport of softball itself.
But we’ll give it a try.
A is for Athens, the site of Candrea’s biggest Olympic triumph. In 2004, The Dream Team — the other Dream Team — cruised to the gold medal. Candrea would help lead Team USA on the global stage for more than a half-decade, winning more than a half-dozen international tournaments. None bigger than this one, though.
B is for Beijing, the site of Candrea’s biggest Olympic disappointment. A Team USA squad that featured three Arizona Wildcats (See: F, J and L) suffered a stunning 3-1 loss to Japan and finished with the silver medal after three straight golds. Even worse, it would be the last appearance of softball in the Olympics for a dozen, err, 13 years,; the sport returns for the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.
Amy Chellevold won two national titles with Arizona and finished her career with 27 ASU records.
C is for Amy Chellevold, the slap-happiest hitter in Arizona history. A late-bloomer in softball who originally started at UC Santa Barbara on a volleyball scholarship, Chellevold transferred to UA, became the nation’s all-time leader in hits and runs scored, won two national titles and finished her career with 27 Wildcat records. Oh, and she married Michael Hillenbrand, son of Bill Hillenbrand, patron of the softball stadium.
Arizona’s Jenny Dalton was the first NCAA player to hit .400 with 200 RBIs, 50 home runs and an .800 slugging percentage.
D is for Jenny Dalton, one of Candrea’s best sluggers, if not the NCAA’s. Dalton was the first NCAA player to hit .400 with 200 RBIs, 50 home runs and an .800 slugging percentage, and only eight others have matched that feat. She finished her career as the Wildcats’ leader in RBIs, walks and runs.
E is for Laura Espinoza, another of Arizona’s biggest bats. A three-time first-team All-American and four-time All-Pac 10 selection, Espinoza set a record with 37 home runs and 132 RBIs in 1995, records that stand to this day.
Arizona's Jennie Finch holds the NCAA record for consecutive wins and season winning percentage.
F is for Jennie Finch, who was to the mound what Dalton and Espinoza were to the batter’s box. Finch holds the NCAA record for consecutive wins and season winning percentage and is among four Wildcats in the top seven nationally in career winning percentage.
G is for Gaudy. Candrea is No. 1 in NCAA career wins. No. 1 in championships. No. 1 in Women’s College World Series appearances. Stats don’t get gaudier than that.
H is for Rita Hillenbrand Stadium, the home of Arizona softball and Candrea’s sanctuary. Candrea turned Hillenbrand into a raucous party, as Arizona set the NCAA record for attendance in 2011 with 77,129 fans across 30 games; in 2017, “Rita” welcomed its 1 millionth fan.
Hillenbrand Stadium became a raucous party in 2011, when Arizona set the NCAA attendance record with 77,129 fans in 30 games.
I is for Kelly Inouye-Perez, arguably one of Candrea’s biggest professional coaching rivals. The UCLA head coach has led the Bruins to two national titles since Arizona last lifted the hardware, including in 2019. The UCLA-Arizona softball rivalry ranks among collegiate sport’s biggest battles.
J is for Lovie Jung, a slugging shortstop and a key transfer in Arizona history. After two stellar years at Fresno State, Jung transferred to Arizona, where she smacked 41 home runs and had 119 RBIs from 2002 to 2003.
K is for Kenzie Fowler, one of Candrea’s most important recruits. A two-time Gatorade National Player of the Year out of Canyon del Oro High School, Fowler’s luck turned in college as she battled injuries.
Caitlin Lowe dives for a ball during the 2007 Women's College World Series. She has taken the torch from Candrea as the UA's new head coach.
L is for Caitlin Lowe, one of Candrea’s most trusted players and now the torch-bearer to his legacy. Lowe, a four-time first-team All-American, now takes over the program and has the chance to take the Wildcats into a new era. She’ll get some help from …
M is for Dejah Mulipola, one of two sluggers who will help Lowe with the transition. Along with fellow masher Jessie Harper, another staple from Candrea’s final teams, Mulipola will transition into a graduate assistant role with the Wildcats in Lowe’s first season.
N is for New Orleans, Candrea’s home town. “The Big Easy” may have been where Candrea spent the first seven years of his life, but then his family moved to Phoenix. Candrea has stayed close ever since, living in Casa Grande and Tucson.
O is for Oklahoma City, the host of the Women’s College World Series, Candrea’s home away from Hillenbrand. The Wildcats have been 24 times.
Arizona's Lety Pineda smacks the ball during the 1997 Women's College World Series. With the UA, she was a three-time All-American, at three positions.
P is for Lety Piñeda, the Swiss Army Knife of all-time for the Wildcats. A three-time All-American — at THREE positions — Pineda won a pair of national titles as a star catcher, a first baseman and a third baseman.
Q is for Quick Work. Some legendary coaches need a few years to get the ball rolling. Candrea almost couldn’t get started quick enough. In Year 2, he led Arizona into the playoffs, and in Year 3, the Wildcats went 54-18 in 1988 and advanced to the Women’s College World Series.
R is for Record Book. You’d need to cut down a few redwoods to get enough paper to account for all of Arizona’s records under Candrea. Arizona appears in the NCAA record book 400 times, and that’s just for player performance. Add Candrea’s records into the mix, and we’re talking an entire forest.
S is for Sue. Candrea’s beloved wife, Sue, died of a brain aneurysm at the age of 48 in 2004, 10 days before the Olympic Games. They were married for 28 years and raised two children, Mikel and Michelle.
T is for Tina Tilton, Candrea’s current wife. They met more than a year after Sue passing, and their love developed quickly, though, Candrea told ESPN.com in 2008: “It wasn’t like I was out looking. I think the good Lord put Tina and I together.” They married in December 2006.
U is for Unbeatable. Maybe the one achievement that Candrea lacked was that ultimate of challenges, an undefeated run through the gauntlet that is the Pac-12. Get this, though: Arizona finished with one conference loss twice and with two losses four times. So close.
V is for Victory. Johnny Drama of “Entourage” fame would get hoarse in the throat yelling “Victory!” every time Arizona took the field under Candrea. How about an NCAA-record 1,674 of them, just surpassing Michigan’s Carol Hutchins, who will likely reclaim the award next year.
W is for WCWS, a summer staple for Candrea for more than two decades. Imagine that, finishing in the top eight of your profession for MORE THAN TWENTY STRAIGHT YEARS? Most coaches would die to make it to OKC once.
X is for X-Factor. Was it the thin air? Was it the stadium dimensions? Somehow, Hillenbrand Stadium became a launch pad for Arizona power hitters. Candrea eventually learned that to measure up to the big boys of the college softball world, he would have to break out the big bats, and he did.
Y is for Youth Movement. Candrea was never afraid to throw his players into the fire, and if they proved ready as freshmen, he would let them fly. As a result, Arizona has regularly produced freshman All-Americans.
Z is for Zero. In 1986, Candrea’s first year at the helm, the Wildcats went 27-13-1 but missed out on the postseason. That was the last time they’d have an uneventful mid-May. That’s right: 34 straight postseason appearances with nary a blemish.