A starter in every softball game she ever played in a Tiger uniform, Mindy Bean had an immediate impact on the Tigers’ program when she arrived from the West Coast.
With a combined 16 of her ASA, high school teammates at Foothill High School in Palo Cedro, Calif., and later at Winston Churchill High School in Eugene, Ore., earning NCAA Division I full scholarships, Mindy joined the pack when she chose Oregon State, following her older sister, Stephanie, who had played collegiately at Portland State.
“I was playing as a left-handed (slapper) outfielder, but I wanted an opportunity to be a right-handed infielder,” Mindy said of her Oregon State experience. “Towson had recruited me my first time around. When I was looking for a new opportunity (head coach) Lisa (Costello) reached back out and this time I took a visit. I really liked the area – it was nice and hot in the summer – real softball weather. And I always thought of myself as a Tiger, so I transferred.”
In her first season in 2008 she led the Tigers with a then program record 47 runs scored. She showed the way that season with team highs of seven three-base hits, seven home runs and 10 stolen bases. She led Towson in hitting in 2008 (.333) and 2009 (.363) and in base hits (63, 62 and 56) all three years. She twice led the team in triples with seven in 2008 and a tying three in 2010. Her two home runs against Maryland in 2008 tied for second for that single game record. A grand slam against Drexel gave her a team leading 44 RBIs in 2009 to break a 22-year-old single season school record. She recorded 181 base hits over her Towson career for an average of 60 hits per year. She closed out her career with a .345 batting average.
A first team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection in 2009 and 2010 and a second team pick in 2008, Mindy was named first team NFCA (National Fastpitch Coaches Association) All-Region in 2009. She was selected to the All-CAA Tournament Team twice. In 2010 she was honored as Towson’s Female Unsung Hero of the Year.
When her college softball career ended after the 2010 season, Mindy had one semester of athletic eligibility left. Then Tiger women’s soccer coach Greg Paynter was aware of Mindy’s athletic prowess and speed in high school where she set a school record with back-to-back hat tricks in soccer. Her basketball team was featured in ESPN Magazine, and she was named its Most Valuable Defensive Player. In track she qualified for the state meet in the 100, 200 and 400 dashes.
“I was offered a one semester scholarship to play soccer for Towson but I was excited to start coaching,” Mindy recalls. “I took a position as an assistant softball coach at Chadron State College in Nebraska where I worked on an MBA degree. I also turned down an opportunity to play for a travel softball team in Sweden because my coaching responsibilities took precedence.”
At the time of her induction Mindy was an instructor in the business management departments at Linn-Benton Community College and the University of Oregon specializing in teaching business analytics, entrepreneurship, marketing and management.
