Athletics

The Charlotte 49ers football team recently helped make a dream come true for a young football fan.

Robert Woodard is joining the Charlotte 49ers to lead the University’s baseball program. Woodard, a Charlotte native, spent the past three seasons as the pitching coach at UNC Chapel Hill. He also was pitching coach at UNCW and Virginia Tech. Woodard will replace Loren Hibbs, who announced his retirement after 27 years at the helm.

Tommy Langford is joining Charlotte 49ers football as nickelback coach. Langford comes to the 49ers from Christ School in Arden, North Carolina, where he led the Greenies to the 2018 NCISAA Division I state championship game.

Shayna Stahl, who is finalizing a Doctor of Musical Arts/Instrumental Conducting at the University of Washington, will join UNC Charlotte as associate director of bands/director of athletic bands, effective July 1. She will oversee the Pride of Niner Nation Marching Band.

At the University of Washington (UW), Stahl served as graduate assistant director of the Husky Marching Band, director of the Husky Basketball Band, conductor for the UW Concert Band and assistant conductor for the UW Wind Ensemble.

Former N.C. State Associate Head Coach Nikki West has joined the Charlotte 49ers women’s basketball team. West, who was with the Wolfpack for five years, has worked at UT Chattanooga and USC Upstate and has been a part of eight NCAA Tournament teams.

Loren Hibbs, who has been with the Charlotte 49ers for 27 years, retired as head baseball coach, Director of Athletics Mike Hill announced June 14. Hibbs will join his alma mater, Wichita State, as assistant athletics director for baseball operations and player development. He will reunite with one of his former players and former major leaguer Eric Wedge, who was named head coach of the Shockers.

Ragean Hill is the Charlotte 49ers executive associate athletics director. She is coming to the University from Old Dominion University, where she served as the associate athletics director for the past four years. She also has worked at Arkansas, Kansas State and Wisconsin.

Charlotte 49ers senior first baseman Meredith Harris was named to the 2019 Google Cloud Academic All-America Division I Softball Second Team, as selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America.

The Google Cloud Academic All-America Softball Team celebrates the nation’s top players for their efforts on the field and in the classroom.

Ashley Chastain is the new head softball coach for the Charlotte 49ers. Chastain, who is coming off a trip to the NCAA Super Regionals with Mississippi, has served as the pitching coach at Ole Miss, Michigan State and the College of Charleston since her playing days at the University of South Carolina. She was named the 2019 Softball America Pitching Coach of the Year.

In 2023, the Charlotte 49ers will play a nonconference football game against the University of Florida in Gainesville on Sept. 23.