Stacey Vallee is entering her seventh season as head coach for the Patriot women's softball program.  She has compiled a 204-97 record in her first six seasons on the Patriot bench, including five 30-win campaigns and two NCAA Tournament appearances.

This past year (2010), FMU compiled a 36-16 record and earned the program’s second NCAA Division II National Tournament invitation in three seasons.  The Patriots advanced to the championship game of both the Peach Belt Conference Tournament and the NCAA Dahlonega Southeast Regional.  The Patriots ranked 45th in Division II in winning percentage (.692), 57th in fielding percentage (.962), 67th in earned run average (2.63), 77th in scoring (5.08 runs per game), and 83rd in batting average (.301).

In 2009, Francis Marion ended the season with a 32-19 record, and narrowly missed earning an at-large bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament. The Patriots were ranked in four cartegories in the final 2009 Division II statistical report: 33rd in earned run average (1.97), 63rd in winning percentage (.627), 81st in batting average (.293), and 98th in scoring (4.67 runs per game).

In 2008, Vallee guided the Patriots to their most successful season since the program moved from NAIA affiliation to NCAA Division II membership.  Francis Marion ended the season ranked fifth in the final NFCA Top 25 poll with a 39-16 record, the third-highest win total in team history.  The Patriots earned their first-ever bid to the NCAA Division II national tournament, won the South Atlantic Regional, and advanced to the Division II national finals (Elite Eight) in Houston, Texas.  The season also featured the program's first-ever appearance on national television (CBS College Sports).

In 2007, she directed FMU to a 34-16 record and a tie for fifth-place in the Peach Belt Conference regular-season standings.  For a third time in three years under her guidance, the Patriots narrowly missed earning a bid to the Division II Tournament. The Patriots ended the 2006 year with a 27-16 record, was sixth during the PBC regular season, and was ranked eighth in the South Atlantic Region poll.

During a successful first season (2005) at FMU, she guided the Patriots to a 36-14 record and a fifth-place finish during the Peach Belt regular season. The 36 wins was at that time the fourth-most in the program's history. Six of the Patriots' 10 losses were by one run.  The 2005 team spent three weeks ranked in the NFCA Top 25 poll, reaching as high as the 10th position. Francis Marion was ranked in the top 20 nationally for three statistical categories at the end of the season, and was 27th in won-loss percentage.

Her five FMU teams have produced 12 All-Conference selections, eight All-Region selections, two NFCA All-America selections, and 37 NFCA All-America Scholar-Athletes.   Her 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009 squads each earned All-Academic Team honors from the NFCA. In 2007 the Patriots ranked 10th among Division II programs (and 22nd among all four-year schools) with a 3.470 cumulative grade-point average; in 2008 ranked 14th in Division II with a 3.36 GPA, and in 2009 ranked 24th in Division II with a 3.329 GPA.

Vallee came to Francis Marion in 2004 from Saint Leo University, a member of the NCAA Division II Sunshine State Conference, where she spent four seasons as an assistant coach. The Lions posted a 135-88 mark during those four years, including a national tournament appearance in 2002. She also served as the university's assistant trainer and taught as an instructor during the 2003-04 year, and worked as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for two seasons.

A native of St. Louis, Mo., Vallee was as an assistant coach at Florissant Valley Community College during the fall of 2000, after having served as player/head coach of the Pulheim Gophers during the spring and summer of 2000.

A 1999 graduate of Barry University with a B.S. degree in sports medicine and athletic training, she was a four-year starter at third base. She helped lead the Buccaneers to the NCAA Division II national tournament each of her four years, including a second-place finish in 1998. She ended her career third on the school's games played list.

She was married during the summer of 2006, and she gave birth to her first child (Ryker) during the 2008 season.  Her husband Greg works with the South Carolina United Football Club (CUFC), based in Columbia, S.C.

Vallee recently completed her fourth year (2005-09) as a member of the NFCA Division II Top 25 committee. She is a member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association, the National Strength and Conditioning Association, the National Council on Strength and Fitness, and the National Athletic Trainers Association. She is a certified strength and conditioning specialist, a certified personal trainer, and a certified athletic trainer.

She participated as a panel member at the third-annual Women in Athletics Seminar, hosted by the Peach Belt Conference in Augusta, Ga., on Sept. 21, 2010.

Vallee is the ninth head coach in the 31-year history of the FMU softball program. The program boasts an all-time mark of 891-545-3 (.620 winning percentage), including five national tournament appearances in the 1980s and the two in the 2000s.

Overall, FMU has won at least 30 games in 11 of the past 13 seasons.