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CALDWELL'S JOHNSON EARNS 300TH CAREER VICTORY

March 30, 2006

Courtesy of Matt McLagan, Caldwell SID

NEW HAVEN, CT - Caldwell College head softball coach Dean Johnson tallied the 300th win of his career when the Cougars defeated Eckerd College, 3-2, on Mar. 20 at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, FL. Johnson, who began the season with 298 victories, picked up win No. 299 earlier in the day with a 7-1 win over Southern New Hampshire.

"The milestone is more of a reflection of the success of the program over the years than anything else," said Johnson, who has an overall record of 307-151 in 11-plus seasons at Caldwell heading into today's doubleheader at Queens College. "It's a credit to the quality of the student-athletes in our program who have worked hard and sacrificed to achieve both in the classroom and on the field."

Before the start of the 2006 season, Johnson ranked 29th in winning percentage (.674) and 42nd in victories among all active NCAA Division II softball coaches. A four-time Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year, Johnson and assistant coach Barbara Zafiris were named the Northeast Region Coaching Staff of the Year in 2004 by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association. That year, Johnson and the Cougars won the CACC and Northeast Region tournaments to advance to the Women's College World Series en route to a 45-7 record and a No. 7 final national ranking. Caldwell is the two-time defending CACC regular-season and tournament champions, compiling a record of 85-18 during that span.

"Looking back, we won a total of 25 games in my first two years," Johnson said. "But now we've won at least 25 games in each of the last seven seasons, and it's because of the commitment of our players to build this program into what it has become."

Johnson, the associate director of athletics in charge of compliance at Caldwell College, also has served as an assistant men's basketball coach at Caldwell for the past 16 years. A 1986 graduate of the University of New England, he earned a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Caldwell College in 1997. Originally from Belgrade Lakes, Maine, Johnson resides in Denville, N.J., with his wife Christine and daughter Katelyn.