University of Maine softball coach Mike Coutts, who guided the 2016 team to the America East tournament championship and a berth in the NCAA tournament, has stepped down to become the head coach at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.
Coutts will be reunited with his wife, Lynn, who is the deputy athletic director for student-athlete excellence in the University of Denver’s division of athletics and recreation.
Lynn Coutts, a UMaine Sports Hall of Famer for her record-setting career as a softball pitcher, had been the softball coach at UMaine and her husband was her assistant. Mike Coutts took over in 2016 after Lynn Coutts was promoted to senior associate athletic director at UMaine.
She left UMaine for Denver in August 2019.
Mike Coutts, an Auburn native, has spent a total of 22 years at UMaine, including his time as a baseball captain and assistant coach under the legendary John Winkin.
“I love Maine but I love my wife and family more,” Coutts said. “It wasn’t an easy decision but it was the right one.”
Daughter Maggie was a first-year student at the University of Denver this past year and son Jackson is pursuing a baseball career in the Washington Nationals organization.
Coutts said the unexpected death of UMaine hockey coach Red Gendron further reinforced his desire to spend more time with his family.
Coutts will be leaving a NCAA Division I program for a Division II program in the Colorado School of Mines. The Orediggers have been very competitive in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference with a 99-56 record in regular season conference games the past five seasons.
He will be replacing Tara Wheeler, who led the Orediggers to an overall record of 22-15, 20-10 in conference play this past spring. They went 1-2 in the RMAC Tournament.
Coutts will have players on athletic scholarships at the Division II level, but not as many as he had at Division I UMaine. Division II schools are allowed the financial equivalent of 7.2 full scholarships, compared with 12 at the Division I level.
During his six seasons as the head coach, Coutts guided his Black Bears to a 94-129 record. They went 42-42 in America East regular season play but were 8-4 in the AE tourney, winning it in 2016 and finishing second the following year. The team has missed the past two tournaments.
There wasn’t one in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The biggest thing I will miss is the kids,” Coutts said. “The players were just awesome. The relationships you develop with them and the opportunity to see them grow as people. You get a chance to help them during some real difficult times in their lives.
“I loved every piece of coaching at Maine. I love the campus. I’ve met a lot of great people. I have no regrets at all. It has been fantastic,” he added.