Auburn softball hot board: Candidates to replace Mickey Dean as season comes to close

AUBURN — With a loss to Florida State in the Tallahassee Regional on Sunday, the 2024 Auburn softball season has officially come to a close, and with it the coach Mickey Dean era.

Dean, who has led the Tigers for the last seven seasons, announced in March his intentions to step down following the conclusion of the 2024 campaign. With the exception of 2020, when the postseason was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Dean guided Auburn to a regional in each of his seasons, though the Tigers could never reach a super regional under him.

The 58-year-old Dean's departure − the plan is for him to begin in a new role as a special assistant to athletics director John Cohen − opens the door for Cohen to hire another head coach. Cohen has already led the charge in Auburn landing Hugh Freeze for football and Jordan Szabo for women's tennis.

Below are are a handful of names for Cohen to consider. These candidates are listed in alphabetical order.

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Becky Clark, South Alabama HC

Prying coach Becky Clark away from South Alabama may be difficult − she's been with the Jaguars since the program's first season in 2007 − but her accomplishments at the mid-major level make her a viable candidate for high-major jobs. Clark has a 565-363-2 record over her 17-season run at South Alabama, including six regional appearances in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2021 and 2024.

Clarisa Crowell, Penn State HC

Only in her fourth season at Penn State, coach Clarisa Crowell has helped the Nittany Lions to at least 30 wins in three consecutive years. Penn State didn't have two straight seasons of 30 or more victories since 2005-06, when the Nittany Lions compiled a 79-35 record. Penn State is 97-57 over its last three campaigns.

Kirin Kumar, Miami-Ohio HC

Miami-Ohio may have gotten knocked out of the Knoxville Regional on Saturday, but the RedHawks had won 35 of their previous 36 games before the regional started, including a 12-game winning streak that featured a Mid-American Conference title. Miami-Ohio has been led by coach Kirin Kumar since 2021 and are 107-16 against MAC competition. The RedHawks also have wins over SEC teams Tennessee, Kentucky and South Carolina while coached by Kumar.

Melyssa Lombardi, Oregon HC

Melyssa Lombardi has championship DNA from her time at Oklahoma, where she was an assistant on coach Patty Gasso's staff for 21 years. Lombardi was named the 12th coach in Oregon history ahead of the 2019 season, a campaign in which the Ducks finished under .500 for the only time during her tenure. Oregon won 38 games last season and made it to the Stillwater Super Regional before getting knocked out by Oklahoma State.

Jennifer Rocha, Oklahoma assistant

Spending time on Gasso's staff seemed to work for Lombardi, so why can't it work for Jennifer Rocha? Rocha, a former pitcher at Oklahoma, has been an assistant with the Sooners since 2018. She's helped OU reach the women's college world series four times, and win the national title on three occasions. Under Rocha, Oklahoma's pitchers are posting an ERA of 1.83 in 2024.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Candidates to replace Mickey Dean as Auburn softball coach