Mike Garoutte begins his first year at North Idaho College as the head softball coach and is entering his 29th year of coaching. 
Garoutte has spent his last three years at Utah Tech University, and assisted in the transition from DII to DI. There, he worked with hitters, catchers and outfielders. In 2023, Utah Tech won the Western Athletic Conference regular season title in only its third year as a DI school. Also in 2023, the team hit .342 which was second only to Oklahoma. The team led the nation in doubles with 114 during the regular season.
Other notable team accomplishments at Utah Tech University include:

• • 2024
  • • Second straight WAC championship tournament appearance as #5 seed
    • Mentored one All-WAC 2nd Team selection outfielder
    • 3.55 GPA for the team GPA during the spring semester
    • 4.0 GPA student-athletes 
  • 2023
  • • WAC Regular Season Champions
    • Mentored WAC Player of the Year
    • WAC Freshman of the Year, both outfielders, and WAC Pitcher of the Year.  
    • 8 All-WAC Team selections.
    • 4 NFCA All-West Region Team selections.
    • Team BA .342 Ranked 2rd nationally. 
    • 3 individual players ranked in top 25 for BA.
    • Ranked #1 nationally in Doubles (114) and doubles per game (2.15).
    • 3.61 TEAM spring semester GPA. 
  •  2022
  • • First program Top 25 win vs. UNLV
    • Team GPA of 3.53
    • 15 NFCA Academic All-Americans
    • Mentored two All WAC 1st team selections
    • one All WAC 2nd team selection including the WAC Defensive Player of the Year

Prior to Utah Tech, Coach G spent five years as a head coach in the Northwest Athletic Conference, at Wenatchee Valley College and Big Bend College, producing a 117-64 record including winning a 2017 NWAC National Championship at Wenatchee Valley going 40-11. 

During the four years at Big Bend, the softball program found un-paralleled success in the classroom and on the softball diamond. In 2018 and 2019, the team set records for season wins and crushed all offensive records; had first winning season and playoff appearances since 2006 and its first 2 NFCA All-Americans. In the classroom, the teams finished ranked 18th, 2018, and 7th, 2019, Top 3 in 2020 in the nation for team GPA.  In 2019, Big Bend had eight Easton/NFCA Academic All-Americans, 2021 saw ten student-athletes garner Easton/NFCA Academic All-American awards. In 2017, as the head softball coach at NWAC Wenatchee Valley College, Coach G guided the team to the 2017 NWAC Championship. The team garnered three NFCA All-Americans, the NFCA Diamond Catcher of the Year, the NFCA New Balance Golden Shoe award winner, the NWAC Player of the Year and East Region Pitcher of the Year, and the NWAC Coach and Coaching Staff of the Year.  
 
In 2016, as an assistant coach at NAIA Eastern Oregon University, EOU secured its first winning season since 2005 and were 2016 CCC Conference Tournament Champions for the first time in program history and advanced to the NAIA National softball tournament.
 
Garoutte was an assistant coach at NCAA Division II Central Washington University. In 2011, CWU was the GNAC Conference Champions and in 2011 and 2014 made the NCAA Division II West Region playoffs. 
 
Garotte has NCAA Division III head coaching experience at Kalamazoo College, MI from 2007-2009 He was associate head softball coach at Central Washington University from 2002-2006.   
 
He has a Master of Science in Exercise Science and a Bachelor of Science in Biology Education with a coaching minor. Garoutte is a long-time member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA), a NFCA Two Star Master Coach, selected to sit on the NFCA Division III Top 25 committee as the Central Region representative in 2007-2009, served a term on the NFCA Hall of Fame Committee and on the NFCA Board of Director’s. 

Coach G and his wife Shannon and have three children: Kellen, Jesse, and Shailyn. The newest addition to their family is a grandchild, Lachlann.