HENDERSON, Nev. (April 22, 2020) – The College of Southern Nevada baseball team has a strong connection to professional baseball, with Major League Baseball all-stars and career players prominently dotting the list of distinguished alums.
 
Sometimes the Coyotes are able to benefit from a big-league caliber player on both sides – 1) as a successful upcoming player and 2) as a veteran baseball mind who is eager to shape upcoming CSN players. Enter Mike Dunn, CSN alum and former MLB pitcher, who has returned to Southern Nevada to work as a volunteer coach with the Coyotes during the 2020 season. Dunn was working with Southern Nevada's players, instructing them in techniques as well as preparation, prior to the COVID-19 shutdown.
 
CSN skipper Nick Garritano said having a successful alumnus like Dunn work with players is a coup for CSN.
 
"Mike has been such a huge part of our program since we have gotten here," he said. "He has always given back to the program in so many different ways financially, participating as a celebrity at our golf tourney, throwing out first pitches, etc.  I believe we were playing golf last year and the conversation came up about him helping out a couple days a week at practice. There was not a second that went by before I said, 'absolutely'. He and Bryan Gidge do a tremendous job working together with the pitchers."
 
For Dunn, who was drafted by the New York Yankees organization during the 2004 draft in the 33^rd round, the opportunity to give back to his alma mater was too much to pass up.
 
"I felt like I had a lot of knowledge I could pass down to the players, and the coaching staff made me feel right at home," he said. "When I played at CSN, there was always Major League guys out there practicing during their off-seasons. When I was a player, I felt like I learned a lot from those guys, so if I could give a little back to the current players I wanted to."
 
Dunn's professional career is certainly dotted with impressive moments. For instance, his first Major League Baseball appearance came in September of 2009, pitching in pinstripes for a Yankees team that would eventually win the World Series. He would go on to pitch for the Atlanta Braves, Miami Marlins and Colorado Rockies before retiring in 2019.
 
While playing for an eventual World Series champion was a high note, rubbing shoulders with multiple Hall-of-Fame players along the way, Dunn's favorite memories from his time in professional baseball was the ability to work on his craft at the highest level.
 
"To be able to not only make it and live my dream but to also play for nine years and get over 500 appearances, that means so much to me," he said. "I think when it comes to the lifestyle (of professional baseball), all those things are great but you can't take that stuff for granted. For me, with the opportunity to play for four different organizations, I tried to learn something new every day and just enjoyed living out my dream, knowing I never knew when my last day would be."
 
Garritano said Dunn's passion for baseball oozes out of him as a coach.
 
"(Dunn) is so invaluable with his talks to the players because that's what they dream of," he said. "He talks to them about the daily grind and what it takes. It's great for the hitters to talk to a big-league pitcher about what he sees and how he would attack them.  Mike has added an incredible dimension to our staff and program."
 
In his conversations with players, Dunn said he tries to communicate in a player-focused way.
 
"My mentality as a coach is to try and give as much info to the players as possible," he said. "No matter what it is, or what position they play. I feel like I'm closer as a player to the kids than a coach. The players ask a lot of different questions to me because I was able to live out what they are all trying to achieve."
 
Of the many players who have helped the CSN program, Garritano said Dunn is a noted one due to his continued involvement with the program.
 
"Every one of our players has the dream that (Dunn) got to live for nine years and that is to play in the big leagues," he said. "When you are in a recruiting battle with another school, Mike's name has come up in many of our recruiting talks as he has been so instrumental to our strength-and-conditioning program. We are very humbled and fortunate to have Mike around our baseball program.  Mike Dunn has demonstrated that he is the ultimate alum of CSN and a true Coyote at heart."