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.

Amanda Player, a native of Lake City, begins her third year as an assistant coach with the Patriot program. She is also the program's recruiting coordinator.

Her duties include on-field coaching and helping in the areas of recruiting and academics. She will be working with the outfield and catchers.

Prior to joining the FMU staff, she worked with the Grand Strand Family YMCA, while serving as an assistant coach with the Myrtle Beach High School varsity softball team.  She helped resurrect the Lady Seahawks' program.  She also spent the first part of 2009 serving as the tournament area director for the World Fastpitch Connection in Myrtle Beach.

Player earned her B.S. degree from Coastal Carolina University, graduating magna cum laude, and in 2010 received a master's of science in intercollegiate athletic administration through the California University of Pennsylvania.

She served as a student assistant coach at Coastal Carolina during the 2005 season, during which the Chanticleers went 24-25 and finished fourth in the Big South Conference.  She has also worked with the City of Myrtle Beach Cultural and Leisure Services department as a youth programs assistant.

Player is a graduate of Lake City High School, where she was a four-year letterwinner on the softball diamond.  She earned All-Region honors and was selected to play in the North-South All-Star contest.

(8-2011)

Jessica Vetock joins the Francis Marion University softball staff for her first season in 2011-12. Her duties will include arrangement of team travel itinerary, community service, team promotions, camps, and recruiting, as well as working with the infielders.

Vetock, who hails from Pasaden, Md., joins the Patriots after spending the 2011 summer working with the Florida Pride professional softball team.  She also spent one season as an assistant coach at the Community College of Baltimore in Catonsville (CCBC). 

Prior to coaching, Vetock starred for a season with CCBC squad where she was a All-Conference and All-Region performer and was named an NFCA All-American Scholar-Athlete in 2007.  She then completed her playing career at the University of Maryland Baltimore County as a three-year starting shortstop.  She was named team captain for the Retrievers for the 2009 season.  She was also a three-time honoree with the America East Commisioner's honor Roll.

Her younger sister, Lauren, is a goalkeeper on the FMU soccer team.

(8-2011)