AUBURN, Ala. – Returning to his roots, Auburn softball coach Mickey Dean was inducted into the Radford University Hall of Fame on Oct. 20 in Radford, Virginia.
"My first D-I job," recalled Dean, who coached the Highlanders for six seasons from 2007-12, leading the program to its first three NCAA Tournament victories while winning 80 percent of Radford's conference games, four Big South season championships and two conference tournament titles.
Until the hall of fame ceremony, Dean had been back only once since leaving Radford more than a decade ago for James Madison, and even then, he was just passing through town.
"To see all the faces, share a bunch of cool stories and see all the players from different classes," said Dean, who earned four consecutive Big South Coach of the year honors. "That was fun."
Dean was allotted 10 minutes to share those stories. He ended up taking 30, still well shy of the event's 47-minute speech record.
"I said, 'I won't break that,'" Dean joked. "I had a lot of players there and I enjoy telling the stories. It was nice."
Stories about 4:30 a.m. indoor practices with outfielders stationed in bleachers, and stopping workouts to run when players didn't communicate loudly enough, much to their chagrin.
While at Radford, Dean also coached professionally and internationally, which helped him evolve away from his "my way or the highway" approach.
"As a young coach, you get stuck on, 'It's my way and this is the way we're going to do it,'" he said. "It was tough."
Coaching professional athletes and the Venezuela national team broadened Dean's perspective.
"Really learned how to listen and not talk so dadgum much," he said. "I think our teams at Radford really benefited from that.
"I was brought up old school. This is what the coach says. This is what you're going to do. Things change, and if you're not willing to change with them, things usually don't work out too well."
Preparing for his seventh season on the Plains, Dean's 2023 team followed up a 43-19 season by going 8-0 during the fall, outscoring opponents 91-9 with four shutouts.
"We had a pretty successful fall ball season," he said. "It's about getting that one percent better each day. That's what we talk about. Let's be better today than we were yesterday, and we'll worry about tomorrow tomorrow."
Auburn returns All-American Maddie Penta, the reigning SEC Pitcher of the Year, along with fellow senior pitcher Shelby Lowe. For the 2024 Tigers, that's a solid foundation on which to build.
"We have a good nucleus back in the outfield, infield, pitching and catching," Dean said. "Then we've added some nice pieces so it's a really nice combination.
"The young players and transfers bring a lot to the table. The team communicates a lot better with each other. They're hard-working and focused.
"Every day this fall, they've been 15 minutes early, everybody. It's been pleasant to see them focused on what they're trying to accomplish, and it's not being forced on them."
Auburn begins the 2024 season in February with a head coach who's added another honor to his long list of accomplishments.
Hall of famer.
Coach Mickey Dean credits his time at Radford with helping him becoming a better listener
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer