Littlewood named head baseball coach at BYU

PROVO, Utah — BYU director of athletics Tom Holmoe today announced the hiring of Mike Littlewood as the new head baseball coach of the Cougars.

Littlewood comes to BYU from Dixie State College in St. George, Utah, where he has been the head baseball coach since 1996. In 16 seasons, Littlewood compiled the most wins in Dixie State history (563-238; .702), while capturing eight league titles. His teams made four appearances in the National Junior College World Series, winning the national championship in 2004 and finishing runner-up in 2001. Littlewood was named National JUCO Coach of the Year in 2004.

“We are pleased to announce Mike as the new BYU head baseball coach,” said Holmoe. “He is passionate about baseball and his enthusiasm is contagious. Mike has been very successful at every level of coaching and we look forward to having him guide our baseball program.”

Littlewood played third base for BYU from 1985-88. He was named All-Western Athletic Conference as a junior and All-WAC and All-Region 9 as a senior. Following his senior season, Littlewood was selected in the 27th round of the 1988 Major League Baseball Draft and spent a season in the Milwaukee Brewers organization.

In addition to Dixie State, Littlewood has coached baseball at Alta High School in Salt Lake City and guided the Zion Pioneerzz — a minor league baseball in St. George, Utah — to the 2001 Western Baseball League championship. Littlewood has also officiated NCAA basketball for 16 years, including three NCAA Sweet 16 and two Elite 8 appearances.

“I am very excited to return to BYU and coach the baseball program. I love teaching the game of baseball and have been preparing for this opportunity for a long time,” Littlewood said. “As a former player I realize the unique opportunities BYU has to offer. I look forward to recruiting quality student-athletes, engaging former players in the program, and returning BYU baseball to national prominence.”

Littlewood has a bachelor’s degree from BYU in secondary education/physical education. He and his wife Dani are the parents of four children: Tyson, Nathan, Marcus and Mica. Marcus was drafted in the second round of the 2010 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners.