How Dean Curley’s upbringing turned him into an everyday starter for Tennessee baseball

Caleb Jarreau, Sports Editor

June 13, 2024

Dean Curley and his mom sat at the Valero gas station in San Dimas, California before 5 a.m., waiting to meet Northview High School head coach Daniel Roddy. The coach arrived at 5 a.m., windows down but no music playing, to take Curley to Northview’s morning workouts.

Every Monday and Thursday morning of Curley’s freshman year, the same transfer took place — part of a deal that Roddy worked out with Curley’s mom, Natalie. The agreement allowed her to not have to drive all the way to Northview every morning, but there was a catch. Roddy said the Curley’s couldn’t be late, or the agreement was off.

So, Dean and Natalie Curley arrived at the Valero gas station 10-15 minutes early every Monday and Thursday morning. It was an example of the dedication that Curley took in baseball and the support his mother provided every step of the way.

For Roddy, he realized he had a rare talent on his hands. A rare talent who became a California High School baseball star as a freshman before taking his talents to the SEC, being an All-Conference Freshman for Tennessee baseball.

“I think he just realized early on, I’ve got it, so I’m going to work at it,” Roddy said. “It’s just a God-given ability for him.”

Earning the chance to attend Northview

A Damien High School sign stood in the front yard — a boy’s Catholic school located in La Verne, California. It was the school that Natalie Curley expected her son to attend, but he had other plans.

Dean Curley wanted to go to Northview, so his mom offered a deal. If he could pass a test — much like the SAT — and avoid summer school, then he could attend Northview. Then in eighth grade, Curley studied daily to make sure he passed the test.

The studying paid off. Natalie Curley took the sign out of the yard and her son was off to Northview High School in nearby Covina, California, and playing baseball for Roddy.

“‘Dean, you did what I asked you to do and I’m really proud of you and I’ll support whatever you need to do to get to Northview,” Natalie Curley recalls telling her son. “That’s the kind of pride he had and believed in himself to do so.”

Roddy was around Curley since he was almost 12 years old. He knew he was special, but the belief became even more concrete once Curley arrived on campus. One day during Curley’s freshman year, Roddy decided to let him know just how much talent he had.

Roddy offered to drag the field one day after practice, normally something Curley handled. He told Curley to tag along so the two could talk. The coach put it simply: he told Curley he had “it.” He had the ability to not only play at the next level but thrive.

The conversation weighed on the young shortstop. The confidence that Roddy instilled in Curley allowed him to become a leader and an everyday starter, as a freshman, on a team that was filled with juniors and seniors.

“A big saying he has is ‘Success brings jealousy,’” Curley said. “He was just telling me, he knows I have the confidence and the drive to do it. I just had to apply it and just accept the fact that there’s going to be people hating along the way, people that are jealous and you got to just tune them out.”

From the moment Curley stepped on campus at Northview, players gravitated toward him. The team went as Curley went. He was a sure-handed infielder, thit leadoff for much of his career and was the team’s closer.

Curley had loads of talent, the most of almost any player Roddy has coached in his over 36 years in baseball.

“It’s almost like the times when we did struggle a little bit is because Dean wasn’t performing well, which wasn’t very often,” Roddy said. “Where we ended up going is where Dean took us.”

What made Curley unique from those other players was his work ethic and the way he approached baseball. That is something Roddy credits with Curley’s upbringing.

Growing up, and going away from home

Curley had a regimented upbringing, but one he values today. Academics was priority No. 1 at every step of the way. If he didn’t have good grades, he wasn’t going to be participating in extracurriculars.

Curley also had a job working as a dishwasher for a local pizzeria. He learned how to balance everything while also playing baseball — valuing a consistent structure and routine.

That structure carried over to the baseball field.

Natalie Curley took him everywhere to play baseball. During the COVID-19 Pandemic when baseball was shut down in California, she was off to Arizona, Utah, Nevada or other nearby states every weekend to allow Curley to play baseball.

In between the traveling for games were the numerous practices he went to, and Natalie Curley was there every step of the way. The shortstop was took comfort in seeing his mom sitting front row no matter where he went.

“She was the biggest part. She was the glue,” Dean Curley said. “She went everywhere. I could probably count on my fingers how many games she’s missed in my 15 years of baseball. … She’s a great, great human being and even better mom.”

The time did finally come, though, for Curley to have to live away from his mom. The talented shortstop went to live in Georgia and play with Alpha Prime — a top travel ball organization know for producing Division I players.

Traveling for baseball was nothing new, traveling without his mom came as an area of growth for both.

“He told me, ‘Mom, you got to clip the wings, you have to let me go,” Natalie Curley said. “I think that was the hardest, one of the hardest parts of accepting that he was growing up.”

Playing with Alpha Prime showed Curley that playing in the SEC was a real possibility for him. He had previously been committed to Southern California, but he backed off that commitment when a coaching staff change occurred.

Alpha Prime featured players committed to Arkansas, LSU, Texas A&M and others. The competition was top-notch and required the best out of Curley.

Before long, he had SEC attention himself.

“I talked to myself, I was like, ‘You know what, if I want to be the best version of myself, I have to be with the best,’” Curley said. “I mean, being in this league is tough already, but it just makes you such a better player, man. It’s proof.”

Tennessee earning mom’s stamp of approval

Curley hit the road during the summer heading into his senior year, playing tournaments across the country to get more eyes from college coaches. Somewhere during that summer, Tennessee baseball head coach Tony Vitello watched the infielder.

The two first spoke at the Area Code Games in California. The conversations were short, but it was enough for Curley to schedule a visit to Tennessee.

Curley’s first round of visits in the fall included Oklahoma State, Arkansas and Tennessee — visiting the three schools on football weekends.

Curley that he had the choice of some of the best programs in the country. But, as Roddy told him before his visits, he would know when he found the right place.

That moment came on the Friday of his visit to Tennessee. Watching practice and the way the coaching staff operated, he knew he wanted to be a Vol. His decision wouldn’t be sealed until he brought his mom to Knoxville, leading to a second visit on the weekend Tennessee hosted many of its commits.

She came prepared with a list of questions. She spent a lot of time with assistant coach Luke Bonfield, who drove her around to see everywhere Curley would be eating, staying or going to class. She spent time meeting with counselors from the Thornton Athletics Student Life Center, making sure Curley would be set up to succeed academically. She even met with strength coach Quentin Eberhardt to see what the weight training regime consisted of.

The answers were the same: They can set the bar, but the accountability falls on the player. Knowing her son, Natalie Curley was ready to send him to Tennessee. She told Dean that she would support him wherever he went, but his decision to become a Vol made that even easier.

“She helped me all the way up and I feel like that would’ve been very disrespectful to not get her approval,” Curley said. “And I wanted her to feel safe that I was in a good environment and I was in the right place.”

“I couldn’t be happier,” Natalie Curley said. “And the time that I am able to be there is limited. I go to bed at night knowing that my son is happy, he’s taken care of and he’s under good instruction and leadership.”

Dean and Natalie Curley text daily now that he’s at Tennessee. On the days when she needs to hear his voice, the two talk on the phone.

The freshman boasts a .273 batting average with 12 home runs as he heads to the College World Series with Tennessee baseball. To his mom’s satisfaction, he finished the spring semester by earning a place on the Dean’s List.

From the mornings at Valero gas station to driving all over to play baseball, Natalie Curley wouldn’t change a thing about Dean’s upbringing.

“I wanted to prepare him to be a man when he grew up,” she said. “… I enjoyed it because Dean let me be a part of it and I was invited. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”