Longtime Team USA star and former Michigan great Amanda Chidester has announced plans to retire from her softball playing career.
Chidester is playing in Season 3 of Athletes Unlimited, which begins later this week, and will retire from the diamond after the AU season ends in late August.
On social media on Wednesday, Chidester wrote, “The time has finally come! This is me officially letting the world know I am retiring after this season of [Athletes Unlimited]!!
“Softball you have been everything and more the last 20 years of my life. I am going to miss competing on the field but no way will I be away from the game! Sorry softball world I am here to stay for the long run. I love this game and everything it has brought to my life and I can’t wait to share with all the young aspiring softball athletes!
“Thank you softball for demanding excellence 24/7, goals to chase, friends to love, family to keep entertained, my future wife, a mentality that will forever benefit my life, and pure joy!! Softball you paved the way and forever changed my life.”
Chidester spent the better part of a decade as a stalwart on the Team USA roster and helped lead the national team to a silver medal in the Tokyo Olympics last year. She has played in every season of Athletes Unlimited since the league’s start in 2020 and was the Big Ten Player of the Year as a college athlete at Michigan in 2011 and 2012.
