Mike Candrea
American softball coach
John Michael Candrea (born August 29, 1955) is the former head softball coach and served as interim athletic director between February 2 and March 3, 2024 at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. He was the head coach of the United States women's national softball team 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, Candrea moved with his family to 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 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. Candrea has coached at Arizona since 1986, where he has garnered 1610 NCAA wins, along with eleven Pac-10 Conference titles. Candrea also has ten Pac-10 coach of the year awards. The Arizona softball team has won eight Women's College World Series 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.
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