Meet the Founders
MDA Sports Academy
Mike Dean was born and raised in Rome, Georgia. At an early age, he was known for his standout talents in basketball, football, and baseball. Mike played ball at both Rome High School and Coosa High School. While at Coosa, Mike was rated the #18 shooting guard in the nation out of high school by the Sporting News. During his Coosa career, Dean was a two-time selection to the All-State and All-Region teams. He was also a two-time Region Player of the Year pick, averaging 30 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 6.5 assists. Mike scored over 1,600 points in only two years Mike scored his high school career high of 53 points in the region tournament. He scored 40 or more points 10 times, led his team to the AA Final Four in 2000 and the Elite Eight in 2001. Mike was also named All-State as a wide receiver in football. Upon graduating from Coosa High School, Mike had scholarship offers from countless NCAA D1 universities, and he chose to play basketball for The University of Georgia.
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Mike played at Georgia for two years until transferring to Middle Tennessee State University. Mike was the team’s leading scorer at 16.2 ppg, which was No. 3 in the Sun Belt Conference. He made Second-Team All-Sun Belt Conference and finished No. 6 on single-season 3-point field goals made list with 62, No. 2 in Sun Belt Conference in 3-point field goal percentage, and No. 5 in Sun Belt in 3-point field goals made.
From there, Mike was drafted to play overseas. While overseas, Mike played in various countries such as Poland, Germany, Venezuela, China, and the Dominican Republic.  Mike was then drafted to play in the NBA D League for the Bakersville Jam of the Golden State Warriors.
Following the D League, he played for the East Kentucky Miners in the CBA League. In December of 2008, Mike joined very rare company. He became just the sixth player since 1975 to score 50 points while dishing out 10 assists in a professional game. Dean joins such names as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Tony Parker, Stephen Marbury, and Kareem Abdul-Jabar as players to accomplish this feat since 1975.
Presently, Mike is founder and CEO of Mike Dean Athletics and MDA Sports Academy. He and his wife, Stephanie, run their family businesses together.
stephanie dean
founder & co-ceo
Stephanie was born and raised in Rome, Georgia. She began playing soccer when she was 7 years old and fell in love with the sport. At the age of 8, Stephanie’s parents decided to move to Broken Arrow, Oklahoma to attend Rhema Bible Training School. While there, Stephanie was able to further hone her soccer skills.
Upon moving back to Rome, Stephanie played soccer for Rome High School. Stephanie served as captain of her team during her senior year and was offered full scholarships from multiple D1 colleges. She chose to attend Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi.
While at Jackson, Stephanie played right wing, stopper, and center-mid. She served as captain of her team her junior and senior year. Stephanie graduated suma cum laude and began her teaching career in 2010 back home in Rome City Schools.
Stephanie also coached travel soccer teams, winning multiple championships. Stephanie has trained three players to advance to the Olympic Development Program, and she coached the top two players in the state of Georgia in their division.
During her time as a teacher, Stephanie was named Teacher of the Year at West Central Elementary for the 2016 school year. She was then named Teacher of the Year for the Rome City Schools District for the 2017-2018 school year. She went on to compete for Teacher of the Year for the state of Georgia. Stephanie was named Assistant Principal of Main Elementary in 2019 where she served for 2 years before retiring. Stephanie is the founder and CEO of Step Up Educational Consultation and serves as Co-CEO of MDA Sports Academy.
Stephanie and her husband, Mike, run their family businesses together. Their two sons, Mj & Andre, enjoy being able to go to the gym during their free time.  
