Former Arizona All-American and U.S. Olympic outfielder Caitlin Lowe was officially introduced Wednesday as the successor to Mike Candrea as the Wildcats’ softball coach.
Lowe, 36, spent the last nine seasons under Candrea following a professional career with the USSSA Pride. Lowe served as the program’s director of operations in 2013 and then as a volunteer assistant coach in 2014, before joining the coaching staff full-time in 2015. She served as Arizona’s associate head coach from 2018 to 2021.
She is the 12th active head coach from high school to the pro ranks to play under Candrea, who officially announced his retirement Monday after 36 years with the program.
FORMER ARIZONA ATHLETES WHO ARE SOFTBALL HEAD COACHES
List of softball head coaches of various sports and different levels who competed at Arizona.Compiled by AllSportsTucson.com.
| Name | UA | Team | Sport | Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candace Abrams | 2000-04 | Clarendon (Texas) JC | Softball | 2020 |
| Amy Baray-Rocha | 1999 | Salpointe Catholic HS | Softball | 2015 |
| Jackie Coburn | 2002-05 | Scottsdale Horizon HS | Softball | 2013 |
| Debby Day | 1989-91 | Cal-Lutheran | Softball | 2002 |
| Tanya Farhat-Villarreal | 1994-97 | West Bend (WI) Slinger HS | Softball | 2015 |
| Kristie Fox | 2004-07 | UNLV | Softball | 2017 |
| Krista Humphreys | 1993-96 | Corona (CA) Centennial HS | Softball | 2015 |
| Stacey Iveson | 1986-89 | Israel National Team | Softball | 2019 |
| Caitlin Lowe | 2004-07 | Arizona | Softball | 2022 |
| Jennifer Martinez | 2008-09 | Abraham Baldwin (GA) JC | Softball | 2017 |
| Jody Pruitt | 1990-93 | Peoria Sunrise Mountain HS | Softball | 2011 |
| Rebekah Quiroz | 2002 | Pima CC | Softball | 2019 |
| Gina Snyder | 2018-19 | Manatee (FL) Squeeze | Softball | 2020 |
“Tucson you have my heart,” Lowe said at McKale Center on Wednesday during her introductory press conference. “I promise not to give my best impersonation of Coach Candrea, but the absolute best version of myself each and every day.
“His lessons live inside of me and I can’t wait to pass them on to future generations.”
Candrea told AllSportsTucson.com’s Steve Rivera and Troy Hutchison that Lowe impresses him the most because of her “excellence” and “humility.”
“She’s something else. She doesn’t even want to even talk about how good she is,” Candrea said. “I fell in love with her. I love what she represents. And then being able to watch her grow as a coach, it’s been acknowledged that it was a good decision, that she was ready for this.”
Candrea gave her the responsibility of scouting opponents the last four to five years.
“She likes watching video and she does a really good job of giving you a synopsis of how we’re going to play defense on the opponents,” he said. “She does a really good job with the kids on looking at a pitcher and say, ‘This is what your plan should be.’
“Who best other than her to be able to do that?”
Here is a complete list of known active coaches who were Arizona athletes:
FORMER ARIZONA ATHLETES WHO ARE HEAD COACHES
List of head coaches of various sports and different levels who competed at Arizona. Compiled by AllSportsTucson.com.| Name | UA | Team | Sport | Start |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adia Barnes | 1995-99 | Arizona | Women's hoops | 2016 |
| Heidi Bomberger-Bruschi | 1993-97 | Attleboro (MA) Feehan HS | Volleyball | 2020 |
| Matt Brase | 2003-05 | Pallacanestro Varese (Italy) | Men's hoops | 2022 |
| Robert Bonillas | 1995-98 | Desert View HS | Football | 2012 |
| Tod Brown | 1990-94 | New Mexico | Baseball | 2022 |
| Casey Candaele | 1979-82 | Buffalo (AAA) Blue Jays | Baseball | 2021 |
| Jackie Coburn | 2002-05 | Scottsdale Horizon HS | Softball | 2013 |
| Clark Crist | 1977-80 | Pulaski (VA) River Turtles | Baseball | 2021 |
| Debby Day | 1989-91 | Cal-Lutheran | Softball | 2002 |
| Shelley Duncan | 1999-2001 | Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (AAA) Yankees | Baseball | 2023 |
| Byron Evans | 1983-86 | South Mountain HS | Football | 2020 |
| Terry Francona | 1977-80 | Cleveland Indians | MLB | 2013 |
| Tanya Farhat-Villarreal | 1994-97 | West Bend (WI) Slinger HS | Softball | 2015 |
| Brenda Frese | 1989-93 | Maryland | Women's hoops | 2002 |
| Kristie Fox | 2004-07 | UNLV | Softball | 2017 |
| Margo Geer | 2011-14 | Alabama | Swimming/Diving | 2020 |
| Chip Hale | 1984-87 | Arizona | Baseball | 2022 |
| Jason Hisey | 1988-91 | Canyon del Oro HS | Baseball | 2019 |
| Jack Howell | 1983 | Tri-City (A) Angels | Baseball | 2021 |
| Krista Humphreys | 1993-96 | Corona (CA) Centennial HS | Softball | 2015 |
| Mark Keel | 1979-82 | Silverdale (WA) Central Kitsap HS | Football | 2000 |
| Steve Kerr | 1983-88 | Golden State Warriors | NBA | 2014 |
| Andy Litten | 1999-03 | Scottsdale Horizon HS | Football | 2021 |
| Hunter Long | 2013-15 | Douglas HS | Football | 2019 |
| Caitlin Lowe | 2004-07 | Arizona | Softball | 2022 |
| Brandon Manumaleuna | 1997-00 | Lawndale (CA) Leuzinger HS | Football | 2020 |
| Jennifer Martinez-Walls | 2008-09 | Abraham Baldwin (GA) JC | Softball | 2017 |
| Craig McMillan | 1984-88 | Santa Rosa (CA) JC | Men's hoops | 2000 |
| Richard Mercado | 2002-04 | Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei HS | Baseball | 2019 |
| Leighton Milton | 1992-93 | Hollywood (CA) HS | Football | 2020 |
| Edwin Mulitalo | 1995-98 | Southern Virginia | Football | 2018 |
| Ronnie Palmer | 2005-08 | Monterrey Peninsula (CA) JC | Football | 2020 |
| Jose Portilla | 1996-97 | Heritage Academy | Football | 2017 |
| Rebekah Quiroz | 2002 | Pima CC | Softball | 2019 |
| Colt Sedbrook | 2006-08 | Crown College (MN) | Baseball | 2024 |
| Jason Stewart | 1997-99 | Encinitas (CA) San Dieguito HS | Boys hoops | 2014 |
| Damon Stoudamire | 1992-95 | Georgia Tech | Men's hoops | 2023 |
| Rafael Valenzuela | 2008-10 | Bowling Green (A) Rays | Baseball | 2023 |
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ALLSPORTSTUCSON.com publisher, writer and editor Javier Morales is a former Arizona Press Club award winner. He is a former Arizona Daily Star beat reporter for the Arizona basketball team, including when the Wildcats won the 1996-97 NCAA title. He has also written articles for CollegeAD.com, Bleacher Report, Lindy’s Sports, TucsonCitizen.com, The Arizona Republic, Sporting News and Baseball America, among many other publications. He has also authored the book “The Highest Form of Living”, which is available at Amazon. He became an educator five years ago and is presently a special education teacher at Gallego Fine Arts Intermediate in the Sunnyside Unified School District
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