Babson College

Dave Canan is is his 25th season as the head softball coach at Babson College in 2023-24.

The winningest coach in program history, Canan surpassed the 500-win mark during the abbreviated 2020 campaign and has guided the Beavers to 23 or more victories 16 times, which includes five seasons of at least 30 wins. He has led the Beavers to four NEWMAC Tournament titles and six NCAA Tournament appearances, including the program’s first Super Regional berth in 2017.

Under Canan’s leadership, Babson captured its first NEWMAC championship and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 2005 on the way to recording a single-season school-record 38 victories. The Green and White won its second straight conference title and returned to the national tournament in 2006, and earned another NCAA bid after reaching the NEWMAC Tournament final in 2013.

The Beavers went 33-16 in 2017 and captured the NEWMAC Tournament championship and the NCAA Tournament Babson Regional title as Canan and his assistants were selected as the NFCA New England Coaching Staff of the Year. 

In 2020, Canan's squad went 15-3 on the way to claiming the program's first NEWMAC regular season title since 2006. The Beavers swept Coast Guard and Springfield on the way to winning their first conference tournament championship since 2017.

Canan's 2022 team won a program-record 19 consecutive games on the way to capturing the NEWMAC regular season crown. The Beavers earned their sixth NCAA Tournament berth under Canan and advanced to the Geneseo Regional title game and finishing with a 38-10 overall record, matching the program record for wins in a season.

In addition to his softball duties, Canan served as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Babson from 1998-2023. The Beavers amassed 480 wins while winning 12 regular season league titles and eight NEWMAC Tournament championships to go along with making 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.

A graduate of Boston State College and Northeastern University, Canan taught and coached softball and basketball at Masconomet Regional High School for almost 20 years before taking over as athletics director at Newburyport High School in 1994. While at Newburyport, Canan also coached softball for one season, leading the Clippers to a Cape Ann League title and a berth in the Division II state tournament.