Michael Rory Littlewood is an American baseball coach. He played college baseball at BYU from 1985 to 1988, before playing professionally in 1988. He then served as the head coach of then Dixie State Rebels (later called "Red Storm", now Utah Tech Trailblazers) from 1996-2012, and then the BYU Cougars (2013–2022.)[1][2][3][4][5]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1966 (age 57–58) |
| Playing career | |
| 1985–1988 | BYU |
| 1988 | Beloit Brewers |
| Position(s) | Third baseman / Shortstop |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1993–1995 | Salt Lake City (UT) Alta |
| 1996–2012 | Dixie State Red Storm(Rebels until 2009) |
| 2013–2022 | BYU Cougars |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 867–457 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| |
| Awards | |
| |
Playing career
editLittlewood was a third baseman at BYU, earning All-Conference as both a junior and senior. He was drafted in the 27th round of the 1988 MLB Draft by the Milwaukee Brewers and played one season at Class-A Beloit Brewers.[1]
Coaching career
editShortly after his playing career ended, Littlewood accepted the head coaching position at Alta High School in Sandy, Utah. He remained for three seasons before moving to Dixie State, then a junior college in St. George, Utah. Under Littlewood, the Rebels (and Red Storm) won 563 games, won one national championship, made four appearances in the National Junior College World Series, and claimed eight league titles. Littlewood was named National JUCO Coach of the Year in 2004.[1] Dixie State transitioned to the Division II level under Littlewood in 2007. Littlewood also served during this time as an NCAA basketball referee, working three NCAA Sweet 16s and two Elite 8s.[3]
After being a finalist for the BYU head coaching position in 2000, when Vance Law earned the job, Littlewood was hired at BYU prior to the 2013 season. In his first season, the Cougars tied for second in the West Coast Conference and qualified for the first WCC tournament.[2]
He was named the West Coast Conference Coach of the Year in 2019.[6] On April 11, 2022, Littlewood resigned midseason for personal reasons.[7]
Head coaching record
editThis table shows Littlewood's record as a head coach at the Division I level.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dixie State Rebels (Scenic West Conference) (1996–2006) | |||||||||
| Dixie State Rebels/Red Storm (Independent) (2007–2008) | |||||||||
| 2007 | Dixie State | 25–20 | |||||||
| 2008 | Dixie State | 25–22 | |||||||
| Dixie State Red Storm (Pacific West Conference) (2009–2012) | |||||||||
| 2009 | Dixie State | 33–19 | 15–9 | 1st | |||||
| 2010 | Dixie State | 31–19 | 19–13 | 2nd | |||||
| 2011 | Dixie State | 32–15 | 22–10 | 1st | |||||
| 2012 | Dixie State | 35–20 | 25–15 | 2nd | NCAA Regional | ||||
| Dixie State: | 605–249 (.708) | ||||||||
| BYU Cougars (West Coast Conference) (2013–2022) | |||||||||
| 2013 | BYU | 32–21 | 15–9 | T-2nd | WCC tournament[a] | ||||
| 2014 | BYU | 22–31 | 12–15 | 7th | |||||
| 2015 | BYU | 28–25 | 16–11 | T-3rd | WCC tournament[b] | ||||
| 2016 | BYU | 37–17 | 18–9 | T-1st | WCC tournament[c] | ||||
| 2017 | BYU | 38–21 | 20–7 | T-1st | NCAA Stanford Regionals | ||||
| 2018 | BYU | 22–28 | 11–16 | T-9th | |||||
| 2019 | BYU | 36–17 | 19–8 | 1st | WCC tournament | ||||
| 2020 | BYU | 7–9 | 0–0 | Season canceled due to COVID-19 | |||||
| 2021 | BYU | 23–27 | 15–12 | 4th | |||||
| 2022 | BYU | 17–12 | 7–3 | ||||||
| BYU: | 262–208 (.557) | 133–90 (.596) | |||||||
| Total: | 867–457 (.655) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b c "Mike Littlewood Staff Bio". BYU Cougars. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
- ^ a b Dick Harmon (May 27, 2013). "BYU baseball coach Mike Littlewood got Cougars close to NCAA postseason". Deseret News. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
- ^ a b Jason Franchuk (June 28, 2012). "Littlewood gives up moonlighting gig to go full-time at alma mater". Daily Herald. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
- ^ Andy Griffin (June 28, 2012). "BYU hires Littlewood for baseball post; Search is on for new Dixie State skipper". stgnews.com. Retrieved October 8, 2013.
- ^ "BYU announces the abrupt in-season resignation of baseball coach Mike Littlewood". Deseret News. 2022-04-11. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
- ^ "WCC Announces 2019 Baseball All-Conference Teams". www.wccsports.com. West Coast Conference. May 21, 2019. Retrieved June 2, 2019.
- ^ Kevin Reynolds (April 11, 2022). "BYU baseball coach Mike Littlewood resigns in the middle of season". www.sltrib.com. The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
External links
edit- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)