Bio

Coach Mike Mendenhall

Mike Mendenhall is in his second year heading the MCC softball team. After starting the season 0-9 in his first year, the team rallied to finish at 31-28, going over .500 for the first time on the last day of the regular season.

MCC finished third in Region IX then opened the post-season tournament with wins over sixth seeded Western Nebraska 4-1 and second-seeded Trinidad State 3-2. Then in against top-seeded Northeastern Junior College, MCC led 5-3 in the bottom of the sixth inning when the game was suspended one day because of weather. The next day, NJC scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to claim a 6-5 win. That setback sent MCC to the consolation round of the double-elimination bracket where they lost to Trinidad State 10-1.

Four players were selected to the all-Region IX Division 1 team. Sophomore Madisyn Simms (Port Moody, British Columbia) and freshmen Andie Suhai (Medicine Hat, Alberta) and Ella Covill-Marter (Queensland, Australia) were selected first team and Nevaeh Ogden (Littleton, Colo.) received honorable mention.

Simms MCC hit .444 with a team-best 71 RBIs. She had seven home runs, 22 doubles, four triples and 12 steals with a .453 on-base mark and a .704 slugging average. Suhai led the team with 12 home runs, batting .454, reaching base 52 percent of her plate appearances and an .839 slugging percentage. Ogden batted .365 with 18 extra-base hits, 27 RBIs and 20 steals in 21 tries. She had a .462 on-base average.

Covill-Marter led the pitching staff going 12-10 with 20 complete games. In 174 innings pitched she struck out 235 hitters, which was ninth best in the country among 494 pitchers at 147 division 1 schools.

MENDENHALL is a high school graduate of Laramie High School in Laramie, Wyo., and earned his associate degree from Northeastern Junior College in 2007. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business from Bellevue University in 2010 and earned a master’s degree athletic administration/coaching from Concordia University in Irvine, Calif., in 2011. He also earned a bachelor’s degree in human health and performance/secondary education from Fort Hays State in 2015.

While at McCook, he coached the McCook American Legion Baseball Seniors from 2012-2016, was a full-time substitute teacher in 2015 and 2016, and also worked for McCook Lettering for four years. From 2010 to 2014, Mendenhall was an assistant coach at MCC for baseball and assistant softball coach in 2016.

He spent a year as a personal fitness teacher at USD 480 in Liberal, Kan., and a year at Cornerstone Christian Academy in Las Vegas, where he taught physical education and was the assistant athletic director.

From 2018-2023 Mendenhall was a high school weight training instructor/physical education teacher as well as head baseball coach, and assistant softball coach at Sterling, Colo., High School.

FORMER ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYER

Mendenhall played baseball for Northeastern Junior College in 2006-2008 and was a first-team all-Region IX player. He went to Doane College and was named to the all-conference team both years.

“Athletics were a huge part of my life growing up and I was lucky enough to earn college scholarships to play baseball,” he said. “I know the expectations for a college athlete are incredibly high.”

In the 14 years since his playing career ended, he said he’s been able to “give back” by coaching baseball and softball. In addition to his summers coaching at McCook, he’s been involved with the youth baseball program in Sterling, serving as president.

FAMILY
Mike MENDENHALL is the father of two sons Landry and Maddox and he and his wife Erin have two daughters Faith and Michaela.

In addition to his coaching duties as MCC, he also serves as a Success Coach in the Learning Commons.