Mike Coutts was named the Rhode Island softball head coach in August of 2024.
A veteran coach with more than two decades experience at the collegiate level, Coutts was the head coach for six years at Maine before spending the last three seasons with Division II Colorado School of Mines.
Coutts was named the head coach at Maine in the summer of 2015 after two seasons as an assistant there. From 2016-21, he won 94 games, which ranks third in Maine history. He led the Black Bears to the 2016 America East title and an NCAA regional appearance, the program’s first NCAA appearance in 12 years. He was an even 42-42 in conference play with the Black Bears.
While he was an assistant with the program, the Maine staff was named the 2015 America East Coaching Staff of the Year.
Off the field, Maine excelled under Coutts’ watch. The Black Bears consistently ranked in the top quarter of NCAA Division I teams in grade-point average and were recognized by the NCAA as being in the top 10 percent of Division I softball programs in academic progress rate each of his last three seasons.
In three seasons at Colorado Schools of Mines, Coutts improved the team’s win total each season. After going 16-30 in 2022, the Orediggers went 25-26 in 2023 and then 29-23 last season. The 29 wins were the program’s most in seven years. The team had a 65-53 (.551) record in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action and made two appearances in the postseason. Under his tutelage, the program earned 13 RMAC postseason honors and in 2024, Sadriena Rodriguez became the first player since 2018 to earn All-Region accolades.
During the 2024 season, Mines went back to the RMAC tournament behind a 29-win season, their best since before the COVID-19 pandemic and posted a record of 15-1 in true home games at Joe Coors, Jr. Field, including three series sweeps over Fort Lewis, UCCS and Adams State on their way to 25 RMAC wins. Sadriena Rodriguez earned First Team All-RMAC honors while Kendall Aragon was a Second Team selection. Sidney Wilson and freshman speedster Kellan Ton were Honorable Mention honorees with the latter breaking the program's single-season stolen base record with 25 in 27 tries. For the third straight season, Mines improved their defensive numbers, posting a .970 fielding percentage and finishing tied for first in the conference in that metric after leading the RMAC most of the season. Additionally, Wilson was the 2024 NCAA Division II Statistical Champion as the Toughest Batter to Strike Out in the country, going down on strikes just twice in 155 at bats for an average of 77.5 AB/K.
After a 16-30 overall record and 16-20 mark in RMAC play in year one under Coutts, the Orediggers made strides in 2023, finishing 25-26 and 24-16 in the RMAC and returning to the RMAC Tournament. The season was highlighted by four-game sweeps of Black Hills State and Adams State and saw the highest overall and RMAC win totals since the 2019 season. Additionally, Mines shattered a 12-year old program record for single season stolen bases of 81 set back in 2011, finishing 2023 with 86. Mines also lowered their team ERA by more than a full run and a half from 5.41 to 3.60, led by Second Team All-RMAC performer Sadriena Rodriguez. Mines also earned a pair of RMAC Gold Glove Award winners in catcher Aubree Karraker and outfielder Renata Boyd, who both fielded 1.000 during the season.
Before his softball coaching career began, Coutts was the associate head coach of the Maine baseball program from 1986-97. He helped his alma mater make four NCAA tournament appearances during that span, while also coaching nine players who went on to play professionally.
In addition to his collegiate experience, Coutts coached college athletes in the Cape Cod League as the head coach of the Cotuit Kettleers from 1995-2002. He won Cape Cod titles in 1995 and 1999, and he was the 1995 Cape Cod Coach of the Year.
Coutts is married to UMass Lowell Director of Athletics Lynn Coutts. Lynn Coutts has more than two decades experience as a college coach and administrator. Before taking over at UMass Lowell in July, she was the associate vice chancellor, deputy director of athletics and the Senior Woman Administrator at the Division I University of Denver. She was the softball head coach at Maine from 2011-15 before making the switch to administration at Maine.
A former Maine baseball player, Coutts was the captain for the Black Bears’ 1981 College World Series appearance. Twice a graduate of Maine, Coutts earned a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education, as well as a master’s degree in Education Administration.
He has a daughter, Maggie, and a son, Jackson. Jackson played baseball at Rhode Island from 2018-20 before beginning a professional baseball career in 2021 with the Washington Nationals' minor league system. Maggie graduated from Colorado State in May of 2024.
updated 8/6/2024
