Mike Dee (baseball coach)

Mike Dee (born May 20, 1958) is an American college baseball coach and former outfielder. He is the head baseball coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). He played college baseball at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse. Under him, UIC has reached six NCAA Tournaments. Before coming to UIC, he was an assistant at Minnesota.[1]

Mike Dee
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamUIC
ConferenceHorizon League
Record660–504
Biographical details
Born (1958-05-20) May 20, 1958
Alma materUW–La Crosse '79 (B.A.)
Playing career
1977–1979UW–La Crosse
Position(s)Outfielder
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1982–1987La Crosse (WI) Aquinas HS
1988–1998Minnesota (asst.)
1999–presentUIC
Head coaching record
Overall660–504
TournamentsNCAA: 2–12
Horizon: 42–28
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
  • 12× Horizon League champion (2000, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2017)
  • 5× Horizon League tournament (2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2017)
Awards
  • 10× Horizon League Coach of the Year (1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2015, 2017)

Playing career

Dee was raised near Chicago before moving to Wisconsin for his senior year of high school. He played high school baseball at Benet Academy in Lisle, Illinois for three years and at Aquinas High School in La Crosse, Wisconsin for one. He attended the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, where he played three seasons of baseball for the Indians. In 1979, Dee's senior season, the team reached the NAIA World Series.[1]

Coaching career

Dee first coached high school baseball at Aquinas for six seasons from 1982 to 1987. The school won the Wisconsin State Title four straight times from 1984 to 1987. In 1987, Dee was named the Wisconsin State High School Coach of the Year and the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Coach (WBCA) of the Year.[1][2]

Minnesota

Dee's first college coaching job came at Minnesota, where he was an assistant under John Anderson from 1988 to 1998. During his tenure, the Golden Gophers reached six NCAA Tournaments and never won fewer than 30 games. Dee was named the WBCA Man of the Year in 1996.[2][3]

UIC

Ahead of the 1999 season, Dee replaced Dean Refakes as the head coach at UIC.[1]

After a losing record in 1999, UIC began the most successful stretch in program history from 2000 to 2008. In the stretch, the Flames had nine 30-win seasons and won eight Horizon League regular season titles and four Horizon League Tournaments.[4]

UIC made its first NCAA Tournament in 2003, then reached the postseason again in 2005, 2007, and 2008. The team went 0–2 in 2003 and 2005 but won a game in both 2007 and 2008. In 2007, as the fourth seed in the Long Beach Regional, it upset top-seeded Long Beach State. In 2008, as the fourth seed in the College Station Regional, it defeated second seeded Dallas Baptist in an elimination game.[5][6] UIC extended Dee's contract after the 2008 season.[7]

In November 2006, Dee was seriously injured in a practice accident. A player doing a bat release drill accidentally let go of a bat that flew and hit Dee in the face. His orbital, cheekbone, and nose were shattered. Doctors restored his face with major reconstructive surgery and metal implants, and he kept sight in both eyes. He was able to coach the start of the following 2007 season, though he needed a mask and dugout heaters to protect the healing bones from the cold.[8]

Dee has won the Horizon League Coach of the Year award eight times: 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. During his tenure, UIC has had two league Players of the Year, three Pitchers of the Year, and seven Newcomers of the Year.[4]

Six Flames have been taken in the MLB Draft from 1999 to 2014. Future Major Leaguer Curtis Granderson played for the program early in Dee's tenure and was one of the Flames' conference Players of the Year. In 2014, following a $5 million donation from Granderson to rebuild the stadium, UIC's home field was renamed Les Miller Field at Curtis Granderson Stadium.[9][10][11][12]

Head coaching record

Below is a table of Dee's yearly records as a collegiate head baseball coach.[4][13]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
UIC Flames (Horizon League) (1999–present)
1999 UIC 18–306–125thHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2000 UIC 33–2612–6T-1stHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2001 UIC 32–2813–72ndHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2002 UIC 39–1614–51stHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2003 UIC 39–1815–61stNCAA Regional
2004 UIC 35–2114–81stHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2005 UIC 38–21–114–61stNCAA Regional
2006 UIC 35–2022–71stHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2007 UIC 35–2121–61stNCAA Regional
2008 UIC 35–2217–61stNCAA Regional
2009 UIC 29–2317–61stHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2010 UIC 24–3015–93rdHorizon Tournament
2011 UIC 28–2616–7T-1stHorizon Tournament
2012 UIC 35–2522–81stHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2013 UIC 27–2813–11T-2ndHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2014 UIC 24–2717–132ndHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2015 UIC 29–22-122-82ndHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2016 UIC 25–3015–124thHorizon Tournament[lower-alpha 1]
2017 UIC 39–1722–81stNCAA Regional
2018 UIC 30–1815–92ndHorizon Tournament
2019 UIC 30–2318–11T-2ndNCAA Regional
2020 UIC 4–120–0Season canceled due to COVID-19
Total:660–504

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Notes
  1. In this season, each member of the Horizon League qualified for the postseason baseball tournament.
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References
  1. "#8 Mike Dee". UICFlames.com. UIC Athletics Communications. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  2. "2013 WBCA Awards". BaseballWisconsin.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  3. "2012 Big Ten Baseball Record Book" (PDF). p. 107. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
  4. "2014 Horizon League Baseball Record Book" (PDF). Horizon League. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  5. "NCAA Division I Baseball Championship Record Book" (PDF). NCAA.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 5, 2014. Retrieved June 5, 2014.
  6. "Illinois-Chicago Is Team to Beat in Horizon League". CollegeBaseballInsider.com. February 4, 2009. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  7. "UIC Gives Coach Dee Extension". NCAA.com. UIC Athletics Communications. December 9, 2008. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  8. Hamilton, Brian (May 12, 2007). "UIC Coach a Real Comeback Kid". ChicagoTribune.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  9. "MLB Amateur Draft Picks Who Came from University of Illinois at Chicago (Chicago, IL)". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  10. "Granderson Has It All". LATimes.com. Associated Press. March 23, 2008. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  11. Raye-Stout, Cheryl (February 11, 2013). "Yankees Star Gives Back to University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago Youth". WBEZ.org. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  12. O'Brien, Tim (April 18, 2014). "Curtis Granderson Stadium Dedicated at UIC". SunTimes.com. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
  13. "2014 Horizon League Baseball Standings". D1Baseball.com. Jeremy and Cynthia Mills. Archived from the original on August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
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