Player Bio: Steve Dailey - University of Washington Official Athletic Site
April 18, 2013 | Softball
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Steve Dailey enters his first season as co-head coach for the Washington softball team after a single season as an assistant coach. A native of Ventura, Calif., Dailey has had a successful baseball career at the collegiate and professional levels.
In his first season with the Dawgs as the offensive coach, Dailey helped develop one of the most powerful line-ups in the country. The Huskies pounded 75 home runs last year, including 25 by Kristen Rivera, which set a UW record and tied for the nation's lead. Washington out scored its opponents by nearly double (313-161) and invoked the mercy-rule 11 times, including three times in the Regional Tournament to set a Washington postseason record. Dailey also helped the Huskies become more selective at the plate, increasing their number of walks and decreasing their number of strikeouts.
Dailey was drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1988 and played in the Northern Professional League (NPL) from 1993-1994. In his first season with the Rochester Aces, Dailey was named NPL Rookie of the Year and was selected to the 1993 All-Star team as an outfielder. In 1994, Dailey led the Winnepeg Goldeyes to the league championship and was again named to the All-Star team. He closed out his professional career with the Hilo Stars in the Hawaiian Professional Winter League, taking the place of Ichiro Suzuki who now plays right field for the Seattle Mariners.
A 1992 graduate of Oklahoma State with a B.S. in Marketing, Dailey led the Big Eight conference with a .470 batting average as a freshman. A year later, he helped lead the Cowboys to the 1990 NCAA National Championship Runner-up finish. Dailey was a three-time All-Regional Tournament selection and studied the game under head coach Gary Ward who is considered in baseball circles to be one of the greatest hitting coaches in collegiate history. He also helped establish the "Say No To Drugs" campaign at OSU in 1989, organizing athlete appearances at local elementary schools.
He and his wife, Keely, have two daughters, Kaylen (5) and Emme (3) and reside in Kenmore, Wash.
