JUNE 22, 2023 — UTSA Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Lisa Campos announced Thursday that coaching veteran Vann Stuedeman has been selected to be the sixth head softball coach in program history.
“We are thrilled for the opportunity to welcome Vann Stuedeman to San Antonio as the next head softball coach, positioning our Roadrunners for a successful future in the American Athletic Conference,” Campos said. “Her history of developing Mississippi State into a program that consistently reached the NCAA postseason makes her a perfect fit to be the next leader of the talented young women in our softball program. Additionally, her distinguished resumé as a pitching coach illustrates a teacher who uses her expertise and connects with student-athletes to produce results at the highest level.”
Most recently serving the 2023 season as pitching coach at Illinois, Stuedeman amassed a career record of 276-189 (.594) as the head coach at Mississippi State (2012-19), leading the Bulldogs to seven winning seasons in eight years. Under her leadership, the Bulldogs made seven NCAA Tournament appearances and won 33 or more games in seven of her eight seasons in Starkville. She collected the second-most wins and third-best winning percentage in Mississippi State softball coaching history. Always a draw for the Bulldogs’ faithful, her MSU teams delivered 11 of the program’s top 15 crowds to date, including three of the top five in school history.
“I’m honored to be named the next head softball coach at UTSA and look forward to hitting the road running to build something special with the team, staff and administration,” Stuedeman said. “I would like to personally thank Dr. Campos for affording me this incredible opportunity to lead the UTSA Roadrunners. Dr. Campos’ leadership is evidenced in the infectious spirit amidst the UTSA fans, administration and coaches. I’m eager to contribute to this advancement and growth in the athletic department and take UTSA softball to the next level.”
“It’s exciting to be moving into the American Athletic Conference, an extremely competitive softball conference that will push us to be at our best,” she added. “This new era creates a lot of opportunities for the Roadrunners and will assist in recruiting championship-quality student-athletes to UTSA. We want to attract the best and the brightest — and develop them into champions after graduation.”
Prior to her stint at MSU, Stuedeman helped Alabama lay claim to three SEC regular-season titles and reach the Women's College World Series six times while serving as the Crimson Tide’s pitching coach – racking up a 579-150 (.794) record during her stint at Bama from 2000-11, including a phenomenal 243-70 (.776) record in SEC play. Stuedeman mentored a pitching staff that maintained an ERA under 2.00 in eight of her 11 seasons, struck out an average of 485 batters per year and notched 221 shutouts. While in Tuscaloosa, she coached six All-America pitchers who earned 11 All-America and All-SEC honors.
Before making her name in the SEC, Stuedeman took over as the head coach at East Limestone High School in Athens, Ala., delivering the program's first winning season in six years.
Stuedeman got her coaching start as a graduate assistant at West Alabama for two seasons before heading to the University of Alabama-Huntsville for three years as an assistant for her sister, Les Stuedeman, who coached 1,642 games through 28 seasons leading the Chargers' program.
During her stint as a UAH assistant, she worked with pitchers and outfielders, helping the UAH pitching staff to rank in the top five in Division II ERA. She helped lead the program to two Gulf South Conference Championships, three NCAA Regional appearances and a trip to the 1999 Division II National Tournament. She was also part of the staff that was named South Region Coaching Staff of the Year in 1999.
Across her outstanding coaching career, Stuedeman has overseen or guided the development of pitchers earning 12 All-America honors, 23 All-Region awards, 12 All-SEC accolades, three SEC Pitchers of the Year, an SEC Freshman of the Year and the SEC Tournament MVP. Her Division I pitching staffs have accumulated 313 shutouts, 31 no-hitters and five perfect games. Between Alabama and Mississippi State, her former pitchers hold 15 current career or season records at their respective programs.
A Birmingham, Ala. area native, she graduated from Huntingdon College, where she helped the Hawks to two third-place finishes at the national tournament and earned All-America honors. She was inducted into her alma mater's Athletic Hall of Fame on October 8, 2011.
Stuedeman takes over the program this summer after Michelle Cheatham announced her decision to resign on May 17 following 10 years as the UTSA head coach following eight seasons as an assistant. Cheatham finished with a 197-287 (.407) record and the second-most wins among program coaches.
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