HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — It is fitting that the only head coach that the University of Alabama in Huntsville softball knew prior to this season has the school’s field named for her.
That it happened just eight months after Les Stuedeman announced her retirement is both a tribute to her success and a display of the school’s long commitment to her and her beloved program.
The 2014 NFCA Hall of Famer announced her retirement in June after three decades and a record of 1,297-453-1, which ranks third all-time in NCAA Division II and 14th in wins across all NCAA divisions. On Feb. 6, the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved a resolution naming the Chargers’ stadium Les Stuedeman Field.
“UAH has always done amazing things for me and the softball team,” Stuedeman said. “For 30 years, I’ve been able to count on consistent leadership, support and camaraderie from everyone. I know what I’ve experienced in this profession is rare and I know how lucky I am.”
“I’m so proud of UAH. I poured my life into that program,” she continued. “There’s not a better reflection of that than this honor. I take so much pride in what we’ve been able to do.”
The famously-funny Stuedeman joked that she would recommend getting a field named after them to anyone.
“It is so cool,” she quipped.
Over 30 years, Stuedeman led the Chargers to 29 Gulf South Conference (GSC) tournaments, 26 NCAA berths, nine GSC crowns, four NCAA regional titles and runner-up finishes at the NCAA Division II World Series in both 2009 and 2011. She was recognized as the GSC Coach of the Year 10 times, including four straight from 2008-11 and back-to-back honors in 2013-14.
Stuedeman garnered NFCA Regional Coaching Staff of the Year honors six times, earned GSC East Division Coach of the Decade in both 2010 and 2020 and is a member of the GSC, UAH Athletic, Vestavia Hills, Huntingdon Athletic, and Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Halls of Fame. She won 40 or more games 17 times, 50 contests six times, and went 62-12 in 1999 when the Chargers were an NCAA Division II World Series semifinalist.
She won 43 games in her one season coaching high school at Hewitt-Trussville, and also spent two years as an assistant at the University of West Alabama. Stuedeman was instrumental in growing fastpitch softball in North Alabama, helping organize and coach the first 12-and-under travel team in Huntsville, and was also a well-respected Division II representative on the NFCA’s Board of Directors.
Stuedeman said some might question why she’d retire three wins short of 1,300, and admitted she might have also been one of those people in her younger years. But Stuedeman said she is not defined by her victory total. It was the right time to step away, so she did.
“It was a really hard decision to retire, but if you built it right, you can win without Les Stuedeman,” she explained. “I’m so proud of that. My legacy is what those girls are bringing to their community. I knew we were still going to have a great team (going forward).”
Heading into this weekend’s three-game series at Valdosta State, the No. 24-ranked Chargers are rolling under first-year head coach Melanie Carter, a longtime Stuedeman assistant and four-time NFCA All-American at UAH. The team is 17-3 and has won 10 straight games, including its first seven home games since the renaming of the field.
“Part of my job as a leader is to get the best out of the program, and getting the best out of (Melanie) is having her take on this program now,” Stuedeman said. “She needed to have that opportunity and my kids are about to start kindergarten. My son still wants to sit on my lap right now and that’s not going to last forever.”
“There are two people that love this program the most, and she and I are those two people. She is the epitome of what I would want a Charger to be. It’s her time.”
Anyone who spends a few minutes with Stuedeman recognizes quickly that she knows no other way than to give everything she’s got to whatever she is doing. So, with a wife and two young kids at home, continuing to coach, at least right now, wasn’t the right way to serve both the program she continues to adore and the family she loves.
“My family deserves everything I can pour, and those girls also deserve everything I can pour,” she said. “Right now, it’s about my family. I’m doing what I want to do. I’m not closing any doors, but I can’t imagine wearing any other letters than UAH across my chest.”
