Mike Coate is in his 10th season as an assistant softball coach at Sonoma State University in 2017.
Coate has been instrumental in helping the Seawolves to eight-straight NCAA Tournament appearances, seven CCAA Tournament appearances and two CCAA Tournament championships. He has also played a key role in leading the Seawolves to 319 wins during the past nine years with eight-straight winning seasons, which includes a program-record 43 wins in the 2010 season that saw SSU win its first-ever CCAA tournament championship.
During the 2010 campaign, Coate oversaw an explosive offense that led the conference in nearly every offensive statistical category, including batting average (.305), slugging percentage (.463), on base percentage (.379), runs scored (319), hits (506), runs batted in (298), home runs (52), total bases (768) and hit by pitches (50). The Seawolves also shattered the school record for most home runs in a season with 52 -- the previous mark of 24 was set back in 2007 -- and established eight other single-season records at the time.
Since joining the SSU staff in the fall of 2007, Coate has tutored five All-Americans, 24 All-Region selections, and 43 All-CCAA student-athletes. The offense has also boasted a .290 batting average with over 4,000 hits during his time with the Seawolves.
Before coming to Sonoma State, Coate coached for five seasons at Petaluma High School in Petaluma, Calif. In his final three years with the Trojans, he compiled a record of 52-8. He has also coached international softball in Europe and Australia with USA Athletes International, posting an unblemished record of 12-0 during his tenure in 2011 and 2012.
No stranger to club softball, Coate spent 10 years from 1998 to 2007 coaching elite travel programs such as the Petaluma Steel Breeze, Cal-Haze and Nor-Cal Smackers.
In addition to his coaching duties, Coate is a Deputy Sheriff commissioned with the Sonoma County Sheriff's Department, a position he has held since 1996. Before that, he was a Deputy Sheriff in Marin County from 1994 to 1996. Coate is a Veteran of the United States Air Force where he spent four years from 1986 to 1990 as a Sergeant/Crew Chief supervising aircraft maintenance.
Coate received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Sonoma State University and his Master's degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in coaching from Texas Women's College, graduating with a 3.92 GPA. He also holds a Four Star Master Coach certification from the National Fastpitch Coaches College.
