Mike Larabee - Softball Coach - Wright State University Athletics

Mike Larabee

Title:
Head Coach

During his five-year tenure as head coach of the Wright State softball team (2005-09), Mike Larabee led the program to two NCAA appearances and 30-plus wins in each of the final two seasons.
WSU posted 30-plus wins for the second consecutive year in 2009, with the 34 victories trailing just the 36 in 2000 for the most wins ever in a season. Wright State finished third in the Horizon League standings by going 16-8, the most conference wins ever for a Raider team.
The Raiders posted their first winning campaign since 2001 by finishing 33-26 in 2008 and also placed third in the regular season Horizon League standings, which marked the highest finish for WSU in seven years. Wright State then defended its League Tournament title at the Loyola Softball Park in Chicago by winning four straight games, two in dramatic comeback fashion.
The Raiders, making their second straight NCAA appearance and third overall in program history, advanced to the regionals in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and had the lead in the late stages of both games before falling to Michigan and Kent State.
Senior outfielder Jherica Williams became the first Raider ever to be selected as the Horizon League Player of the Year and the first to be named First Team All-Great Lakes Region since 1999 as she led all of Division I in runs batted in per game (1.24), was second in slugging percentage (.909), third in batting average (.469) and fifth in on-base percentage (.566).
Wright State posted 11 new team season records in 2008, including 67 home runs, which shattered the previous mark of 25 set in 1999. As a team, WSU ranked fifth nationally in triples per game (0.36), 10th in batting average (.315) and slugging percentage (.510) and 12th in runs per game (5.85) and home runs per game (1.14). The Raiders also set 10 single-season and six career individual records.
In 2007, the Raiders won four straight games to claim the Horizon League Tournament title despite entering the tournament as the seventh seed. Wright State then advanced to the NCAA Regionals in Evanston, Illinois, falling to eventual College World Series participant Northwestern 4-1 on the Wildcats home field and 3-0 to Notre Dame.
Along with his coaching duties at Wright State, Larabee was also been named to the USA Women's National Team Coaching Pool for the both the 2005-08 and 2009-12 Olympic Quadrenniums. As a result, Larabee was part of the selection camp committee that chose the participants for the Pan American Qualifying Team. That team competed in Guatemala late in 2005 and qualified for the 2006 World Championships in Beijing, China, and the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In the summer of 2006, Larabee was part of the coaching staff for the World University Games, which took place in Taiwan.
Named the eighth head coach in Raider history on August 5, 2004, Larabee came to WSU after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Illinois for three seasons. During his tenure there, Illinois advanced to the NCAA Regionals for the first time in 2003 and, in 2004, the team finished #17 in the final USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association. Illinois, who was the second seed at the NCAA Regional in Waco, Texas that season, fell just one game short of making the College World Series.
Before joining the Illinois staff, Larabee enjoyed a successful coaching career in the state of Washington. He spent four years as the head varsity softball coach, as well as an assistant football and wrestling coach, at Kentlake High School in Kent, Washington, where he also taught advanced weight training and speed development.
Larabee was named AAAA softball coach of the year in Washington after his softball team finished second in the state in 2001 while placing fourth in the state tournament in 2000. Larabee also served a two-year stint (1996-97) as varsity softball coach and assistant football coach at Kentridge High School in Kent.
In six total seasons as a varsity softball coach, his teams compiled a record of 145-25 while he twice won Seattle-Tacoma All-Area Coach of the Year honors. Larabee also served one year as a pitching and outfield coach for the University of Puget Sound baseball team.
Larabee has enjoyed an extensive playing career in baseball and fast-pitch softball. He was a member of the U.S. National Men's Fastpitch team in 1996 and 2000 and also participated in the 1999 Pan American Games National Team Festival. He is also a three-time American Softball Association All-American, played in four U.S. Olympic Sports Festivals and has been named to the ISC All-World Team twice.
Larabee played collegiate baseball at MiraCosta and Green River Community Colleges and then at Washington State University, where he earned his B.S. degree in physical education in 1986. He also earned a M.S. degree in exercise science from Washington State in 1988. During his post-graduate stay, Larabee was an assistant baseball coach for the Cougars, working with the outfielders.
Larabee and his wife, Dawn, have a daughter, Michaela, and a son, John. 
The Larabee File Coaching Experience * Head Coach, Wright State University, 2005-09 * USA Women's National Team Coaching Pool, 2005-Present * Assistant Coach, University of Illinois, 2002-04 * Head Coach, Kentlake (WA) High School, 1998-2001 * Head Coach, Kentridge (WA) High School, 1996-97 Playing Experience * U.S. National Men's Fastpitch Team, 1996 & 2000 * Pan American Games National Team Festival Participant, 1999 * Three-time American Softball Association All-American * Played in four U.S. Olympic Sports Festivals * Twice named to the ISC All-World Team
Mike Larabee's WSU Record 
<table style="text-align: center;" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Season</td>
<td>Overall</td>
<td>Horizon League</td>
<td>HL Tournament/Postseason</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2005</td>
<td>15-24</td>
<td>6-11</td>
<td>1-2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>
2006
</td>
<td>7-41</td>
<td>6-15</td>
<td>1-2</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2007</td>
<td>25-35</td>
<td>8-10</td>
<td>4-0 (Champs)/NCAA Evanston Regional</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2008</td>
<td>33-26</td>
<td>13-7</td>
<td>4-0 (Champs)/NCAA Ann Arbor Regional</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>2009</td>
<td>34-21</td>
<td>16-8</td>
<td>2-2 (Third)</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Totals</td>
<td>114-147 </td>
<td>49-51 </td>
<td>12-6</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>