Legendary Arizona Wildcats softball coach Mike Candrea retires, Caitlin Lowe named replacement
Arizona softball coach Mike Candrea officially announced his retirement Monday, after establishing himself as the winningest softball coach of all time during his legendary Wildcats' career.
Candrea, 65, not only built the Arizona program, he helped grow the sport itself. While with the Wildcats, Candrea won eight national championships, made 24 Women's College World Series appearances, won 10 conference championships and coached 53 All-Americans -- all while winning 1,674 games.
The school announced later on Monday that Caitlin Lowe had been promoted to replace Candrea. Lowe has spent the past nine seasons working on Candrea's staff following a decorated career as Arizona's centerfielder. Lowe was a four-time All-American from 2004-07 and a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic Team.
Speculation grew over the course of the season that this would be Candrea's final one at Arizona. After the Wildcats lost in the WCWS on Saturday, Candrea said he would make a decision "on my own terms," but he became emotional when he described his overall impact he has had on all the student-athletes he has coached.
https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/31585087/legendary-arizona-wildcats-softball-coach-mike-candrea-retires-caitlin-lowe-named-replacement