BYU will enter the Big 12 with a relatively new baseball coach, it appears.
In a stunning development Monday, BYU announced that 10-year baseball coach Mike Littlewood has resigned from his position due to “personal reasons.”
No other details were given regarding the middle-of-the-season resignation in a school news release.
Littlewood’s Cougars are 17-12 overall, 6-6 in the West Coast Conference and are coming off a three-game sweep of Santa Clara in Provo last weekend. They are scheduled to play a four-game series at Nebraska this week, beginning Thursday and running through Saturday.
The Cougars are currently tied for fourth in the WCC standings. The top six teams at the end of the regular season advance to the conference tournament. The top two receive first-round byes.
Current associate head coach Trent Pratt will become the interim coach for the remainder of the season, athletic director Tom Holmoe said.
Littlewood replaced Vance Law as BYU’s head coach in June 2012. The former BYU basketball player and college basketball referee compiled a 262-208 record (.357) in Provo and was 132-93 in the WCC.
BYU won regular-season conference championships in 2016, 2017 and 2019, and Littlewood was named the WCC Coach of the Year in 2019.
The Cougars made the NCAA Tournament in 2017 for the first time since 2002.
Pratt has been on BYU’s staff since 2012 and was associate head coach the past three seasons. He acts as the hitting coach and oversees the catchers, while also being responsible for compiling the schedule each year.
BYU’s remaining staff members will continue in their current roles, according to the news release.
Littlewood played third base at BYU and earned all-conference honors as a junior and a senior. He was picked by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 27th round of the 1988 MLB draft and played one season of minor league baseball.
Littlewood began his coaching career at Sandy’s Alta High before moving to Dixie State University in St. George. He won a national championship at Dixie State in 2004.