Championship Baseball Academy - Chicago Baseball Camp

Championship Baseball Academy
Head Coach Mike Dee

The steady influence instilled in the University of Illinois at Chicago's baseball program since the arrival of Mike Dee as head coach nearly 11 years ago has been evident across every facet, both on and off the diamond.

There is no denying the success achieved on the field by UIC in the last decade under Dee's watch. Entering the 2009 season the Flames have won seven consecutive Horizon League regular season titles and eight overall, setting the stage for four conference tournament championships since 2003 and four NCAA Regional Berths in the last six campaigns.

UIC enters the upcoming season on a streak of nine consecutive 30-plus win seasons, including seven straight campaigns of 35 victories or more, just another example that winning is a staple of Dee's program.

Many of those wins have come against some of college baseball's premier programs in recent years; UIC has defeated a nationally-ranked foe on the road in each of the last three seasons, with Vanderbilt's fifth-ranked 2008 squad the latest in a line of Top 25 teams, including No. 18 Ole Miss in 2006 and both No. 17 Long Beach State and No. 19 Tennessee in 2007, that have fallen to the Flames.

Dee has made road dates against some the toughest teams in the country an essential portion of the Flames' schedule each season, with Vanderbilt, Long Beach State, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Tulane and various national powers on the slate. This year is no exception, with a season-opening series at Texas setting the stage for series against the likes of Alabama, Vanderbilt, Missouri and Creighton.

One of the keys Dee has emphasized within his program is being competitive on the regional level, and UIC has looked no further than the Big Ten in its journey as one of the top programs in the Midwest. Dee's UIC teams have gone 25-11 against Big Ten opponents in the past eight years, including a three-game sweep over Michigan in 2004, a two-game sweep of Iowa in 2005 and wins over Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State and Purdue in the last three seasons. Such success in the regional ranks have recently led Rivals.com national baseball writer Kendall Rogers to recognize UIC as the state of Illinois' top baseball program.

Taking on tough opposition during the regular season has helped UIC steadily improve its postseason results. UIC beat Long Beach State in the 2007 regional opener for the team's first NCAA tournament win, and the Flames eliminated a tough Dallas Baptist team to chalk up their second-ever regional victory last year.

Dee's style of play has not only translated into consistent winning on the field; it has a lasting way of developing talent that has garnered an extensive array of awards in addition to opening up opportunities to play at the professional level.

In the last 10 seasons UIC has featured 52 All-Horizon League selections, 11 league individual award-winners (including two conference player of the year honorees), 30 league all-newcomer team picks, 26 league all-tournament team players, four league tournament most valuable players, five NCAA Regional All-Tournament Team members and eight All-Mideast Region Team athletes.

Well over 50 of Dee's former players have gone on to professional baseball careers. UIC has seen at least one player move on to the pro ranks in each of the last eight seasons. Last year Dee saw catcher Kevin Coddington begin his professional career with the Cincinnati Reds organization, following Steve Carlson (New York Yankees, 2001), Curtis Granderson (Detroit Tigers, 2002), Wes Gilliam (Arizona Diamondbacks, 2002), Kevin Ryan (San Diego Padres, 2002), Kevin Nelson (New York Yankees, 2003), David Haehnel (Baltimore Orioles, 2004), Jordan DeVoir (New York Yankees, 2004), Ryan Gehring (Minnesota Twins, 2004), Mike Hughes (Anaheim Angels, 2004), Nelson Gord (Schaumburg Flyers, 2004; Houston Astros, 2007), Bryan Russo (Schaumburg Flyers, 2004), Justin Johnson (Baltimore Orioles, 2006), Ryan Zink (New York Yankees, 2007) and Zach Peterson (Kansas City Royals, 2007) as UIC players playing professionally since Dee's arrival.

One of the most notable professional products to develop under Dee and his staff while at UIC is current Major League Baseball star Granderson, Detroit's everyday centerfielder and a Flames outfielder from 2000-2002.

Granderson became the first Flames player to start for a major league club on Opening Day when he manned centerfield for the Tigers in 2006. He played a big role during the Tigers' magical 2006 campaign, helping bring an American League Championship and World Series berth back to Motown for the first time since 1984, and in 2007 he accumulated 23 homers, 23 triples, 38 doubles and 26 steals to become just the third player in major league history with 20-plus homers, 20-plus triples, 20-plus doubles and 20-plus stolen bases and the first since the legendary Willie Mays accomplished the feat in 1957.

Wielding a highly-regarded game in center and at the plate as the Tigers' leadoff man and a member of Team USA for the 2008 World Baseball Classic, a charisma that has garnered national television and multi-media gigs with TBS and ESPN, and a generosity that has led to the formation of the Grand Kids Foundation that focuses on educational initiatives and bringing baseball back to the nation's inner cities, Granderson is the perfect example of the type of good, genuine character that Dee always looks for in his student-athletes.

The stability that Dee has cultivated within the team goes beyond winning games, titles and awards; those are just some of the many successful components of his well-rounded program.

Continuous upgrades in facilities have taken place since the first day of Dee's tenure. Les Miller Field, the home park of the Flames, has undergone renovations ranging from a brand-new FieldTurf surface to new lights to refurbished dugouts and a list of improvements from 1998 to today, and much more is in the planning phases.

Just two years ago the Peggy Colvin Baseball Center for Excellence, a state-of-the-art 4,690-square-foot clubhouse exclusive to the UIC baseball team, was constructed. The Colvin Center houses a players locker room, coaches offices, a study laboratory, a video lounge and numerous other amenities.

Earlier this year the program welcomed a new indoor hitting facility, complete with up to six batting cages and FieldTurf, to the fold.

Dee's emphasis on steadiness to his players transcends their participation in the sport. An equal focus is placed on their dual status as both students and athletes, and if the accomplishments on the field are any indicator, each and every member of the UIC baseball team is also expected to give maximum effort to succeed in the classroom.

The tools to fulfill school duties are provided through required study sessions, course performance monitoring and strong academic resources. The UIC baseball program has responded to such concentration on thriving in the classroom by constantly ranking among the athletic department's top-performing teams in terms of grade point average, having an annual presence on the Horizon League's academic honor roll and academic all-league team, and, most recently, attaining the UIC Athletic Department's Male Academic Team of the Year award in 2007-08.

Dee came to UIC after serving the previous 11 seasons as the pitching coach for the University of Minnesota, where his pitching staff was frequently one of the best in the Big Ten. Dee's Minnesota staffs finished first or second in the conference for team ERA in seven of his last nine years as the Golden Gophers compiled a 405-254 (.615) record while registering a 190-101 (.653) ledger against Big Ten foes during his time in the Twin Cities.

In 1997, Dee's pitchers set a school record as they fanned 406 batters in 444.1 innings of work, led by 110 strikeouts from Mike Diebolt, a 1997 draft pick of the Detroit Tigers. Dee's 1993 squad set a then-school record with 43 wins.

Minnesota captured the Big Ten Tournament title four times during Dee's tenure and earned the regular season championship twice, in 1988 and 1992. The Golden Gophers qualified for the NCAA Tournament seven times while Dee was an assistant, including as recently as 1998.

In addition to his coaching duties with the Golden Gophers, Dee also served as the chief executive officer for the Minnesota Baseball Instructional School in Minneapolis. In that position, he handled all staff hiring/training, marketing and scheduling and all business accounting. Under Dee's direction, the business grew into one of the largest baseball camps in the United States.

Dee began his coaching career at his prep alma mater, Aquinas High School in LaCrosse, Wis. As the school's head coach for six years, his squads compiled a 100-26 record. Dee led Aquinas to six straight state tournament appearances and won the Wisconsin state title four consecutive years (1984-87). Following the 1987 season, Dee was named the Wisconsin State High School Coach of the Year before moving on to the Golden Gophers staff the next year.

Dee spent the first 17 years of his life raised in the Chicagoland area. He was an all-state selection as a high school junior at Benet Academy in Lisle, Ill., before finishing his prep career at Aquinas, where he garnered all-state honors.

He then attended the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, where he was a three-year letterwinner and an NAIA All-America selection following his junior and senior seasons. Dee helped the Indians place fourth at the 1979 NAIA College World Series as a senior. Following his collegiate career, Dee played one season in the Milwaukee Brewers organization before entering the coaching ranks.

The body of work of the UIC baseball program has earned Dee a long stretch of awards from his peers. He has garnered an unprecedented eight Horizon League Coach of the Year awards, winning the honor in 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, and in each of the last four seasons (2005-2008). Dee's accomplishments at UIC, Minnesota and Aquinas gained him induction into the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in February of 2006, and he was also honored as the 2007 Division I College Coach of the Year by the Pitch and Hit Club of Chicago at the organization's 62nd annual awards dinner in 2008.

In addition to coaching, Dee has also served as a featured clinician at over 100 clinics nationwide, including the National Baseball Convention in 1991, 2001 and 2006.

This past December Dee inked a contract to stay at UIC through the 2013 season, ensuring that his steady hand will remain at the helm of the Flames for another five years.

Just another sign of stability for a program ingrained in consistency over the past decade.