COLUMN: There Will Never Be Another Coach Like Mike Candrea

TUCSON, AZ — The first time I got to chat one-on-one with Mike Candrea was in the overgrown outskirts of UCLA's softball stadium on a chilly Thursday night in 2019.

It was that night that the Wildcats, thanks to Candrea's tactical decision-making, pulled off a come-from-behind win against the then-third ranked Bruins, snapping UCLA's five-game win streak over the Wildcats.

What I remember most that night was standing across from Candrea next to a utility shed, asking him a few questions about the night, before jumping in a Lyft and meeting a buddy of mine across town.

I then came back to Westwood the following two nights, witnessing the Wildcats split contests with the mighty Bruins to earn the school's first series victory over UCLA in eight years.

To that point in my sportswriting career, I'd covered Candrea and Arizona's softball program, but had always interviewed the man among a pool of other reporters.

During that three-game series, I got to know the man that is Mike Candrea, aside from the wins and losses, the former of which there were many, the latter of which, not so much.

Candrea's answers to my questions were solid enough, expressing his satisfaction with the team's performance against Bruins pitcher Rachel Garcia and the soon-to-be national champion Bruins.

What stood out to me more was what happened after I turned off my recorder.

Candrea asked for my name and which outlet I was with, and cracked a smile underneath his trademark goatee when I told him I was with a local alt-weekly, which had never really covered his program before.

What I remember is how Candrea — whom I had mostly seen give matter-of-fact, almost monotone answers to that point — opened up to me during the remainder of the Wildcats season after we crossed paths in Los Angeles.

It was a small glimpse into the persona that allowed Candrea to win a record eight national championships and 1,674 games during a 36-year run in the Old Pueblo.

It was also a welcomed reprieve from the other university road trips I'd taken at that point.

Candrea never suffered fools, and was sure to give you one hell of a glare if you asked a question he didn't like.

He was also the same man that would open up to you if he felt you actually cared about the women he was trusted with leading.

Candrea made sure to shake my hand and never forgot my name once down the stretch of that 2019 season, as the Wildcats breezed past the likes of Harvard, Auburn and Ole Miss to qualify for the eight-team WCWS.

He made sure to stay connected to his players, past and present, with generation after generation of Wildcats turning up to Hillenbrand (or Oklahoma City), to cheer the program on.

Many of those players will no doubt be in attendance on Tuesday morning on the floor of McKale Center, when Candrea announces his final act as the head coach of the Arizona Wildcats.

Candrea, with all of his career victories and eight national titles, will forever set the bar for excellence in Tucson, alongside the likes of the late Lute Olson and Jerry Kindall.

Arizona Athletic Director Dave Heeke summed as much up in his statement about Candrea's retirement.

"On behalf of the entire Wildcat Family, I want to thank Mike for his immeasurable impact on our university. Mike, his wife Tina, and the entire Candrea family have been incredible supporters of Arizona Athletics and the University of Arizona and left an everlasting impact on all our lives," Heeke's statement read.

Here's hoping that Candrea enjoys his well-earned swan song.