Amanda Chidester

Personal: Majored in physical education at Michigan … named as an assistant softball coach at her alma mater on Sept. 6, 2022 … daughter of Brian and Sandy Chidester … has four siblings - RJ, Matt, Trever and Brandon … proud aunt to three nephews and one niece … hobbies include outdoor activities … favorite sport other than softball is tennis … engaged to Athletes Unlimited Softball athlete Anissa Urtez and the couple has a Red-Tri Australian Shepherd named Hank.

2022 Championship Season: Earned fifth place on the leaderboard with 1,592 points … member of Athletes Unlimited Softball All-Defensive Team … ranked fourth in league standings with 502 stat points … starter in all 15 games who hit .383 with seven home runs and 16 runs batted in … tied for league lead with 15 runs scored … registered at least one hit in 11-of-15 games … hit a home run in four of her first five games … authored six multi-hit games, including season-high three hits against Team Eberle on Aug. 6 … went 3-for-5 with a home run and two runs batted in while securing 190 leaderboard points … closed season with a five-game hitting streak, including a pair of two-hit efforts … went 2-for-3 with a home run, three runs scored and two runs batted in against Team Mulipola in final game of the season … drove in three runs against Team Jaquish in Week Two opener while hitting a double and a home run.

2022 AUX Season: Accrued 1,164 leaderboard points to place 10th in the league standings … started all 12 games and registered .205 batting average with nine hits and six runs batted in … posted league-high 12 putouts against Team Gibson on June 20 … opened season by registering at least one hit in seven of first nine outings … posted back-to-back two-hit games on June 20 against Team Gibson and on June 23 against Team Zerkle … scored twice in season finale against Team Fischer on June 25 … served as one of three captains during opening series of the season. 

2021 Championship Season: Finished second on the leaderboard with 1,714 points … tied for fourth in the league with 1,140 win points while her 434 stat points were good for third … also tallied 140 MVP points, which were tied for fifth in the circuit … member of inaugural Athletes Unlimited Softball All-Defensive Team … batted .413 while starting all 15 games … led Athletes Unlimited with 19 hits, seven home runs and 41 total bases … tied for fourth in the league with 12 runs scored and 12 runs batted in … drew nine walks, good for third in the league. 

2020 Championship Season: Tallied 1,030 leaderboard points during inaugural season … batted .300 with 15 hits, including six extra-base hits … tied for ninth in the league with 50 at-bats … shared league lead for triples with Anissa Urtez and Aleshia Ocasio … tied for sixth with 13 runs batted in.

International Experience: Helped Team USA win Silver medal at 2020 Tokyo Olympics … posted .200 batting average with four hits in six games … also drove in three runs … went 2-for-4 against Canada with a run batted in … also registered game-winning hit against Australia to propel Team USA into the medal round … three-time participant in WBSC Women’s World Championship who led Team USA to a Gold medal and two Silver medals … member of Gold medal-winning team at 2017 Pan American Championship, hitting .515 with 17 runs batted in, 11 runs scored and two home runs … also helped Team USA earn Silver medal at 2015 Pan American Games with .400 batting average and six RBI … five-time medalist at World Cup of Softball, including Gold medals in 2012 and 2015. 

Other Professional Experience: Named 2019 NPF Player of the Year by Softball America … also named as the league’s Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Home Run Award recipient during rookie campaign … hit .374 with 15 home runs and 35 runs batted in along with an .814 slugging percentage … led the Chicago Bandits to the NPF regular season title … originally drafted by the Akron Racers in 2012, but chose to play with Team USA … also saw action in 2016 with the Scrap Yard Dawgs. 

At Michigan: Four-year letter winner for the Wolverines who appeared in 231 career games from 2009-12 … authored .355 career batting average with 40 home runs and 200 runs batted in … two-time NFCA All-America selection … honored as Big Ten Player of the Year during junior and senior seasons … recipient of Michigan’s Big Ten Medal of Honor as a senior … four-time All-Big Ten performer who earned First-Team notice as a freshman, junior and senior … finished her career ranked second in program history in runs batted in and grand slams … also ranked fourth on Michigan’s career list with .596 slugging percentage … tallied 248 career hits, good for ninth in UM history … also held 10th place on Wolverines’ career ledger with 157 runs scored.