Dan Vitale was named Head Coach of the Detroit Mercy softball program in August 2023. Vitale returned to the program after helping guide the Titans to the 2019 Horizon League Championship as a Volunteer Assistant Coach. He is the 14th head coach in school history.
Vitale earned his first win as head coach of the Titans on March 7th, 2024 with a 2-0 victory over North Alabama. Detroit Mercy also earned its first #HLSB series win since 2019 after taking two of three from Green Bay, and also earned their first Metro Series win since 2019 with a 2-1 victory over rival Oakland.
After his three seasons at Detroit Mercy (2016-19), Vitale served as the Head Coach for the Dakota High School where he complied a 93-18-1 record over five seasons leading the Cougars to three consecutive MAC (Macomb Area Conference) Red titles and three straight District crowns. He also helped Dakota claim two Regional titles along with a Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) State quarterfinal appearance and runner-up finish in 2021.
Additionally, Vitale is a two-time MAC Coach of the Year (2021, 2023) and Regional Coach of the Year (2021, 2022) and All-County Coach of the Year (2023). He also coached the 2022 High School All-Star team and under his guidance over the past three seasons, six Dakota student-athletes are playing softball at the Division I collegiate level.
Vitale is the President and Founder of the Michigan Batbusters Softball Organization since 2009, which has helped over 100 student-athletes play collegiate softball, and is the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) Fast Pitch Elite Program Director. He also was an Assistant Coach at Macomb Community College helping the Monarchs to a conference and regional championship in 2015.
During his coaching tenure, Vitale also served as the Head Groundskeeper for the Chippewa and Dakota High School district where he oversaw all 25 school grounds to ensure they were safe for athletic and community use.
Prior to his time at Chippewa and Dakota, Vitale served as General Manager and Lead Hitting Instructor for Total Sports Complex. He also founded, owned, and operated Vitale’s Perfect Game Training Facility for indoor baseball and softball for 12 years.
Vitale started his professional career as the Manager of Corporate Security Investigations and Loss Prevention at Standard Federal Bank and earned his way to become the First Vice President of LaSalle Bank (Bank of America).
A native of Sterling Heights, Mich., Vitale earned a Bachelor Degree in Business Administration at Cleary University in 1998. He is also a 2004 USSSA Michigan Hall of Fame inductee as a player and manager and is ABN Amro-Six Sigma Greenbelt certified.
