Central baseball coach Mike Goedde retires after standing tall in dugout and on mound

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – By going out and coaching third base the last inning of a 6-2 loss to Castle in the Class 4A sectional last Friday at Bosse Field, Mike Goedde was apparently signaling to the other Southern Indiana Athletic Conference coaches he was stepping down as Central High School baseball coach.

He made it official on Tuesday night, announcing he has retired during the team banquet.

"You just know when the time is right," he said.

Goedde, a 6-foot-5 flame-throwing righthander at Mater Dei and the University of Evansville, was a fourth-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Reds in 1983. He served as a minor league pitching coach and Jim Brownlee’s pitching coach at UE before succeeding Gary Redman as the University of Southern Indiana head coach. He guided the Eagles to a berth in the NCAA Division II tournament in his first season, the spring of 1994. Goedde later succeeded Jason Engelbrecht as head coach at Central.

“I had to reinvent myself a couple of times,” said Goedde, 60. “I would not have gotten the USI job without completing my degree in sports administration. I wanted to be an athletics director. I also had to go back and get my teaching license in order to get the teaching and coaching position at Central.”

IHSAA baseball: Central's Mike Goedde has traveled many winning paths

For the past seven years, Goedde has taught at AIS (Academy for Innovative Studies) and he plans to continue to do so.

Engelbrecht said the impact Goedde had on his life is immeasurable.

“We came in together at USI — he as a first-year head coach and I as a freshman student-athlete," said Engelbrecht, Princeton's athletics director. "As much as he taught me between the lines, it pales in comparison to the many life lessons that aided my development as a human being."

Goedde preached hard work, accountability and loyalty.

"He is a mentor and a dear friend," Engelbrecht said. "One of the greatest thrills of my life was serving as head baseball coach at Central High School. The fact that both coach (Paul) Gries and coach Goedde served that same position makes me so very proud. I wish him and (his wife) Soozie nothing but the best."

Brownlee noted that Goedde was his first UE player to be selected in the Major League Baseball amateur draft.

"He was my first draft pick and a better pitching coach in 1988," Brownlee said. "He helped put the program on the map. Big heart."

Goedde, who guided Central to a Class 4A sectional title in 2017, posted a combined total of more than 400 victories at USI and Central in his coaching career.

Goedde's coaching timeline

1986-89: Goedde was released by the Cincinnati Reds after pitching in their organization from 1983-85. Brownlee reached out to him, emphasizing he needed to finish his degree and he would be able to provide scholarship assistance as his assistant coach.

"That is when and where my coaching career began," Goedde said.

1989: Goedde completed his degree and served as a minor-league pitching instructor for the Reds with their Rookie League team in Billings, Montana.

1990-93: Served various roles on Eugene Pate American Legion staff, including manager in 1992 and '93.

1991-92: Was an assistant baseball and assistant football coach at the University of Evansville. He was a pitching coach for baseball and defensive line coach for football.

August 1993: Named head baseball coach at USI.

1994-2006: Eagles head coach for 13 seasons. Later in his career, he also taught PE classes while coaching baseball.

2009-10: Assistant basketball coach and assistant baseball coach at Harrison.

Fall 2010: Named head baseball coach at Central. Coached from 2011-22, 12 seasons.

Contact Gordon Engelhardt by email at gordon.engelhardt@courierpress.com and follow him on Twitter @EngGordon.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Mike Goedde retires as Central High School baseball coach