Littlewood resigns as BYU baseball coach
The BYU athletic department is headed to the Big 12 in 2023-24, but the Cougar baseball team will have a new skipper when they get there.
BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe announced on Monday that baseball head coach Mike Littlewood has resigned from his position for personal reasons.
The Cougars are 17-12 overall and 6-6 in West Coast Conference play after sweeping three home games with Santa Clara last weekend. BYU is scheduled to play four games against Nebraska in Lincoln beginning Thursday.
Current associate head coach Trent Pratt will assume the role of interim head coach, effective immediately, for the remainder of the 2022 season. Pratt joined the baseball staff as an assistant coach in 2012 and was promoted to associate head coach in 2017. The balance of the baseball staff will continue in their current roles.
Littlewood was named head coach at BYU in June 2012. During his tenure, the baseball program went 262-208 (.357) and was 132-93 (.587) in the West Coach Conference. He guided the Cougars to regular season conference titles in 2016, 2017 and 2019 and was named WCC Coach of the Year in 2019. In 2017, he led BYU to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002 after winning the WCC Tournament.
Littlewood and his coaching staff’s development of players has led to 29 All-WCC honorees, eight All-Region honorees, five Freshman All-Americans and two All-Americans. Littlewood has coached 14 players selected in the MLB Draft, including three (Jacob Hanneman, Jaycob Brugman and Michael Rucker) who have seen time in the majors.
Littlewood came to BYU from Dixie State in St. George, Utah, where he had been the head baseball coach for 16 seasons and won a junior college national championship. At Dixie, Littlewood compiled the most wins in school history with an overall record of 563-238 (.702), while capturing eight league titles. His teams made four appearances in the National Junior College World Series, winning the title in 2004 and finishing runner-up in 2001. Littlewood was also named the 2004 National JUCO Coach of the Year. In 2017, he was enshrined in the Dixie State Athletics Hall of Fame.
In 2018, Littlewood was inducted into the Utah Officials Hall of Honor for his contributions to sports officiating. Littlewood was an NCAA basketball official for 16 years before being hired at BYU, and participated in three NCAA Sweet 16 and two Elite Eight games.
He and his wife Dani are the parents of four children: Tyson, Nathan, Marcus and Mica, and have eight grandchildren.
-
- BYU baseball coach Mike LIttlewood makes out a lineup card before a game during the 2022 season.
-
- BYU baseball coach Mike Littlewood poses for a portrait.
-
- BYU baseball coach Mike Littlewood coaches third base in a game at Miller Park during the 2022 season.
